De ontvangst van Kant bij enige Nederlandse natuurwetenschapsbeoefenaars omstreeks 1800

SUMMARY:The reception of Kant in the work of a number of Dutch natural scientists about 1800. The influence of German philosophy on scientific thinking at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century is an important chapter in the historiography of the sciences. At an early date there were in the Netherlands adherents of the philosophy of Immanuel Kant. In the journal of Paulus van Hemert, «Magazijn voor de critische wijsgeerte, en de geschiedenis van dezelve» (1799-1803) we find articles of a number of Kantian scientists. The chemist Jan Rudolph Deiman, the mathematician and philosopher Johann Frederik Lodewijk Schroder, the physicians Jacob Elisa Doornik and Willem Servaas, and the minister and philosopher Jacob Nieuwenhuis all defended the dynamical theory of matter of Kant. However, they did not gave further applications of it on the natural sciences and they confined themselves only to a reflection of the views of the Koningsberger philosopher. Prom the article it is evident that in the Netherlands Kant had but few influence on the study of the natural sciences about 1800.

Wie waren de Nederlandse vertalers van Berzelius' «Leerboek der Scheikunde»?

SUMMARY: In the period of 1834 till 1842 Berzelius' «Lärbok i kemien» was translated in Dutch by three pharmacists: A.S. Tischauser (1808-1872), B. Eickma (1812-1885) and A.F. van der Vliet (1812-1862), who worked under the auspices of their teacher G.J. Mulder (1802-1880). In this article some data on the three translators are given; it appeared that Eickma and to a lesser degree van der Vliet played a part in the history of Dutch chemical and pharmaceutical periodicals in the nineteenth century.

Zijn vloeibare kristallen levende organismen?

Are liquid crystals living organisms? In 1888 the Austrian botanist F. Reinitzer made the observation that the solid compound cholesteryl-benzoate changes - when melting at 145.5 °C - into a cloudy liquid, that, however, turns into a clear liquid at 178.5 °C and higher temperatures. The cloudy liquid seemed to be doubly refracting. Soon a number of these so-called 'liquid crystals' were discovered; in 1908 D. Vorlander, professor of organic chemistry at Halle, described more than 250 of these substances. It was O. Lehmann, professor of physics at Aachen (1885), Dresden (1888) and Karlsruhe (1889), who immediately after Reinitzer's observation began a systematic study of these liquid crystals. In The Netherlands the Amsterdam professor of physical chemistry H.W. Bakhuis Roozeboom was interested in liquid crystals, in particular because of their place in his phase system. F.M. Jaeger, at that time teaching chemistry in a secondary school in Zaandam (near Amsterdam) and working as an unpaid university lecturer at the Amsterdam university (by recommendation of Bakhuis Roozeboom), investigated liquid crystals (1906), as did a number of doctoral students (A.C. de Kock, 1903; A. Prins, 1907). At the university of Utrecht L.S. Ornstein, professor of physics, gave the study of liquid crystals a prominent place in his research programme. The discovery of liquid crystals, which seemed to be able to grow, move, divide, copulate, and so on, led to a discussion on the nature of these substances. Time and again Lehmann called them 'apparently living crystals', although without considering them as 'real living beings'. In his book Flüssige Kristalle und die Theorien des Lebens (1906), Lehmann proved to be an obvious adherent of the monistic views of the biologist E. Haeckel. Haeckel considered the existence of liquid crystals as proof of the unity between the inorganic and the organic world that he believed in so strongly. In his last book, Kristallseelett. Studiën über das Anorganische Leben (1917), he considered liquid crystals a real form of life, as did F. Rinne, professor of mineralogy and petrography, as late as in the nineteen thirties

Jeremias Benjamin Richter en Immanuel Kant

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Uiteenzettingen van het stelsel van Lavoisier door Nederlanders in het laatste kwart van de achttiende eeuw. Een bijdrage tot de historiografie van de scheikunde in Nederland

SUMMARY: Dutch expositions of the oxidation theory of Lavoisier in the last quarter of the eighteenth century. A contribution to the historiography of chemistry in the Netherlands. The adoption of the antiphlogistic system of Lavoisier in the Netherlands is one of the culminating points in the history of chemistry in that country. At the end of the eighteenth century the dutch chemists were the first adherents of the system of Lavoisier. They published not only a number of excellent articles about the new system, but they also carried out a great number of original experiments in favour of Lavoisier's theory. A clear exposition of this system was given for the first time by van Marum (1787) and Nieuwland (1791); furthermore Nahuys (1788) and de Fremery and van Werkhoven (1800) are to be mentioned. The last two gave a literal translation of Lavoisier's «Traite elementaire de Chimie» in the dutch language. In the great Lavoisier-bibliography, Duveen and Klickstein mentioned only the translation by de Fremery and van Werkhoven and the work of Nieuwland as expositions of Lavoisier's theory in the dutch language. Recently McKie in his preface to the facsimile-edition of the english translation of Lavoisier's work gives the same information: Partington also gave only these two dutch works. It is the purpose of this article to give wider information about the abovementioned dutch expositions of Lavoisier's work in order to get a fair idea about the contributions of these scientists in the spreading of the new chemistry in the Netherlands

Het chemisch laboratorium ‘de Leeuwenbergh’ te Utrecht (1845-1903)

The chemical laboratory 'de Leeuwenbergh' at Utrecht (1845-1903) When Gerrit Jan Mulder (1802-1880) was appointed professor of chemistry at the University of Utrecht, he had the disposal of a badly equipped laboratory, which since 1816 had been situated in the building for anatomy and zoology. Mulder was far from satisfied with these facilities. His ideal was to give his students a practical chemical education: for that purpose he needed an adequate laboratory. In 1845 he got a new laboratory in 'de Leeuwenbergh', at a former plague-house, then in use as barracks. The building was renovated and turned into a for that time excellent chemical laboratory. In this article the history of 'de Leeuwenbergh’ in the capacity of a university laboratory (1845-1903) is discussed

De bemoeienissen van Lorentz en Einstein met de Utrechtse leerstoel voor theoretische fysica (1911-1915)

Lorentz and Einstein and the Utrecht chair of theoretical physics (1911-1914) In 1911 physics was taught at Utrecht University by two full professors: W.H. Julius for physics, physical geography, and meteorology; and C.H. Wind for mathematical physics and theoretical mechanics. After Wind had died unexpectedly on August 7, 1911, Julius wanted A. Einstein, at that time professor at the German University in Prague, to succeed him. On October 28, 1911, the Utrecht faculty of mathematics and natural sciences nominated Einstein first and P.J.W. Debije second candidate. However, on November 15, 1911, Einstein declined the appointment. He preferred to become professor at the Polytechnic at Zurich. The Utrecht faculty had to start the procedure all over again. The candidates this time were Debije, W.H. Keesom, L.S. Ornstein, and J.J. van Laar. Debije was supported bij Lorentz and Einstein; Keesom by H. Kamerlingh Onnes and by a Roman Catholic lobby. On February 3, 1912, Debije was appointed professor of theoretical physics. After only two years he left Utrecht for Gottingen, where he became professor of theoretical and experimental physics. Once again the Utrecht faculty of mathematics and natural sciences had to try and find a suitable successor. Candidates again included Ornstein and Keesom, and besides them G.J. Elias and N. Bohr. Debije and A. Sommerfeld supported Bohr's candidature, but Lorentz considered him a representative of the 'adventurous school' of theoretical physics. Because of these conflicting opinions, Bohr's name was not put on the list of candidates. On November 12, 1914, Ornstein was nominated no. 1, Keesom no. 2, and Elias no. 3. Ornstein was appointed professor of theoretical physics. He held the chair until November 1940, when the German occupiers fired him because of his Jewish origins

Inleiding: Van naturaliënkabinet tot museum

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