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By: Shantica Farley
Life While Growing up Robert Boyle was born on January 25, 1627, at
Lismore Castle in Ireland.
As the youngest son of Richard Boyle, the first Earl
of Cork, Boyle was a member of the "Anglo-Irish"
aristocracy which ruled the island (Badertscher,
2006).
Robert grew up in a very noble and high-class life.
Educational Background Robert Boyle’s education began at home.
He started his college career at the age of eight in
England at Eton College.
At the age of twelve, Boyle and his brother toured
Europe for several years.
His studied mainly theology and the humanities and
also mathematics.
In 1654, Boyle moved to the university city of Oxford
and studied the works of scholars.
Invisible College- A group of "natural philosophers," or scholars
interested in what is now known as natural science
(Badertscher, 2006).
Boyle first came involved in the Invisible College
when he moved to Stalbridge manor in Dorset,
England in 1646.
The group later became the Royal Society.
Royal Society The first twelve members included Boyle, John
Wilkins, Christopher Wren, Sir Robert Moray, and
William Viscount Brouncker (Badertscher, 2006).
Boyle’s work became know around the world thanks
to the Royal Society.
It also helped that Boyle had his works translated
into Latin, the international language of scholarship
(Badertscher, 2006).
Robert Boyle often reported his finding in books.
•Boyle questioned the alchemical basis of the chemical theory
of his day (RM, p. 2003).
•He taught that the purpose of chemistry was to determine the
compositions of substances in order to discover the makeup
of the world (RM, p. 2003).
Facts He introduced certain plant extracts, notably litmus,
for the indication of acids and bases (RM, p. 2003).
He was also the first chemist to collect a sample of gas (RM, p. 2003).
In 1667 Boyle was the first to study the phenomenon of bioluminescence, when he showed that fungi and bacteria require air (oxygen) for luminescence (RM, p. 2003).
He is given credit for the invention of the first match in 1680.
Boyle's law-states that the pressure (p) of a given quantity of gas varies inversely as its volume (v) at constant temperature; i.e., in equation form, pv = k, a constant ( Boyle's law, 2010) .
To support his research , Boyle, with the help of Robert Hooke, invented a vacuum chamber, or air pump.
It was determined by measuring the volume occupied by a constant quantity of air when compressed by differing weights of mercury (Lawrence M., 2010).
Robert Boyle's Air Pump
New Experiments Physico-Mechanicall,
Touching the Spring of Air and its Effects
(1660)
Boyle published his discovery that the weight of a
body changes according to the buoyancy of the
atmosphere.
He also explained the experiment he did using his
vacuum pump
The Sceptical Chymist (1661) Boyle said that matter is ultimately composed of
“corpuscles” of various sorts and sizes, capable of
arranging themselves into groups, and that each
group constitutes a chemical substance (RM, p.
2003).
He recognize the difference between mixtures and
compounds and showing that a compound can have
very different qualities than its components.
Historical Background of the
Period Boyle became involved with the Invisible College during
the English Civil War. The group kept a low profile during this time.
After the restoration of the monarchy in England, the group formed the foundation of the Royal Society, which was organized in 1660 and given a royal charter in 1662.
King Charles II supported the new society, giving it a royal charter in 1662 and again in 1663 (Badertscher, 2006).
After the restoration in 1660, while in Oxford, Boyle published more of his written work.
ReferencesBadertscher, E. (2006). Robert Boyle. Robert Boyle, 1-2. Retrieved from History
Reference Center database.
RM, p. (2003). Robert Boyle (1627-1691). Hutchinson's Biography Database, 1. Retrieved from History Reference Center database.
Boyle, Robert. [Photograph]. Retrieved April 9, 2010, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition: http://school.eb.com/eb/art-15457
Boyle's law. ( 2010). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved April 9, 2010, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition: http://school.eb.com/eb/article-9016072
The Sceptical Chymist [Photograph]. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from:http://oldsite.library.upenn.edu/etext/collections/science/boyle/chymist/
Lawrence M., P. (2010). Boyle, Robert. Britannica Biographies, 1. Retrieved from History Reference Center database.
Robert Boyle's Air Pump [Photograph]. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from:http://www.uoregon.edu/~dluebke/WesternCiv102/AirPump.jpg
New Experiments Physico-Mechanicall, Touching the Spring of Air and its Effects [Photograph]. Retrieved April 11, 2010, from:
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/library/adopt-a-book/boyle.htm