Who was Louis-Joseph Gay-Lussac ?

 French Chemist and physicist (1778-1850) known for his studies on the properties of gases.

Born in Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat (Haute-Vienne, Limousin, France), Louis Joseph Gay-Lussac first studied in the “Ecole Polytechnique”, and then entered the “Ecole des Ponts et Chaussées” (Civil Engineering School of excellence). As well as continuing his research, he was professor of Physics at the Sorbonne, Paris, France (Faculty of Science) from 1809 to 1832; professor of Chemistry in the « Ecole Polytechnique » from 1809 to 1840; member of the National Academy of Medicine in 1820; professor of Inorganic Chemistry for the Museum in 1832; Member of Parliament/ Representative for the Haute-Vienne from 1831 to 1837 and a Peer in 1839.

Gay-Lussac - a researcher: some key dates

  • 1802 : he discovered the law of the dilation of gases and vapors (1st Gay-Lussac Law)
  • 1804 : he went up twice in a hot-air balloon in order to study the variations of the Earth’s magnetic field and the composition of the air at different altitudes.
  • 1805 : with Humboldt, he carried out experiments which permitted the volumetric laws on gaseous combinations to be written (2nd Gay-Lussac Law in 1808)
  • 1808 : in collaboration with the French chemist Louis Jacques Thénard, Gay-Lussac worked on the preparation of potassium and sodium, and discovered boron.
  • 1809 : Gay-Lussac and Thénard together discovered fluosilicic acid and fluoboric acid, and affirmed that chlorine is a simple body; Gay-Lussac stated that it was the same for iodine.
  • 1815 : he discovered cyanogen, with the formula C2N2 and hydrogen cyanide acid. In the domain of analytical and industrial chemistry, he improved the manufacturing processes for sulfuric acid and oxalic acid, and optimized the control methods by using titration.

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