William Prout
William Prout (born January 15, 1785 in Horton ( Gloucestershire ), † April 9, 1850 in London ) was an English doctor and (physiological) chemist; he made an important contribution to atomic theory and discovered gastric acid in 1823.
Live and act
William Prout was the son of the farmer John Prout († 1820). After studying medicine in Edinburgh / Scotland, he spent his life as a practicing doctor in London, but did a lot of chemical research. He worked on biochemical topics and performed many analyzes of secretions from living organisms. He believed that the secretions were caused by the breakdown of body tissue. In 1823 he discovered that gastric juice contains hydrochloric acid , which can be isolated by distillation . In 1827 he proposed dividing the substances in food into carbohydrates , fats and proteins .
However, he is more remembered for his research into physical chemistry. In 1815, based on the approximately 20 atomic masses known at the time, he put forward the hypothesis that the atomic mass of each element was an integral multiple of the atomic mass of hydrogen (Prout's hypothesis). The hydrogen atom is the only fundamental particle and the atoms of the other elements are composed of different groups of hydrogen atoms.
The assumed integer had been in contradiction with the atomic masses published by John Dalton since 1803 and was also refuted by later, more precise measurements of the atomic masses. Prout's approach, however, promised such a fundamental insight into the structure of the atom that Ernest Rutherford gave the first atomic nucleus the name proton (Greek proton "the first") in 1920 to honor William Prout.
Prout also helped improve the barometer . The Royal Society in London adopted its construction as standard.
Works (selection)
- Prout, William: Chemistry, Meteorology, and the Function of Digestion, considered with reference to Natural Theology, one of the Bridgewater Treatises . .
- Prout, William: An Inquiry Into the Nature and Treatment of Diabetes, Calculus, and Other Affections of the Urinary Organs , 2nd Edition, Baldwin, Craddock, and Joy, London 1825.
- Prout, William (1834). Chemistry, Meteorology, and the Function of Digestion Considered with Reference to Natural Theology ; Bridgewater Treatises, W. Pickering (reissued by Cambridge University Press , 2009; ISBN 9781108000666 )
- Prout, William: Correction of a Mistake in the Essay on the Relation between the Specific Gravities of Bodies in their Gaseous State and the Weights of their Atoms . In: Annals of Philosophy . 7, 1816, pp. 111-113.
- Prout, William: On the Nature and Treatment of Stomach and Urinary Diseases , 3rd edition, John Churchill, London 1849.
- Prout, William: On the Relation between the Specific Gravities of Bodies in their Gaseous State and the Weights of their Atoms . In: Annals of Philosophy . 6, 1815, pp. 321-330.
literature
- William H. Brock : From Protyle to Proton: William Prout and the Nature of Matter, 1785-1985, CRC Press 1985.
- William H. Brock: William Prout on taste, smell and flavor. In: Journal of the History of Medicine. Volume 22, 1967, pp. 184-187.
- Martin Schneider: Prout, William. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 27, Bautz, Nordhausen 2007, ISBN 978-3-88309-393-2 , Sp. 1085-1088.
- Bettina A. Bryan: Prout, William. In: Werner E. Gerabek et al. (Ed.): Enzyklopädie Medizingeschichte. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2005, ISBN 3-11-015714-4 , p. 1187.
Individual evidence
- ^ Brock, WH: The life and work of William Prout. Med Hist. 1965 April; 9 (2): 101-126. p.102
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Prout, William |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English chemist and doctor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 15, 1785 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Horton , Gloucestershire |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 9, 1850 |
| Place of death | London |