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Address by emeritus professor sir Alfred Egerton, F.R.S.
ADDRESS BY EMERITUS P R O F E S S O R SIR ALFRED EGERTON, F.R.S. Sir Humphry
Davy and The Royal Institution
Doubtless you guessed w h y it was chosen to hold the opening meeting here in the Royal Institution. H u m p h r y Davy was the pioneer in the study of C o m b u s t i o n a n d Flame, a n d it was here t h a t his work was done. Most of you know quite as well as I do the story of this place a n d the story of Davy a n d h o w F a r a d a y b e c a m e his assistant, but, o u t of h o m a g e to those great men, should we not spend some of our time calling t h e m to m i n d ? T h e R o y a l Institution was founded by B e n j a m i n T h o m p s o n in 1799. T h o m p s o n was b o r n a t Wob u r n n e a r Rumford, Mass., so w h e n h e was created a C o u n t of the Holy R o m a n E m p i r e he took the n a m e C o u n t R u m f o r d . H e belongs to the U n i t e d States, to England, to Bavaria, to F r a n c e ; to the laws of radiation a n d conservation of energy; to oil lamps a n d to heating appliances, a n d a host of o t h e r affairs. Mr. S e c r e t a r y - - C o l o n e l - - A d m i r a l --Philosopher Thompson--so Gibbon dubbed him. A l t h o u g h he a p p r o v e d of very littlqktowards the end of his life, h e would have a p p r o v e d wholeheartedly of our meeting here. T h a t is just as well. I should indeed feel very nervous if the C o u n t were suddenly to a p p e a r in angry mood, or D a v y be disturbed a n d come u p from the l a b o r a t o r y below, or F a r a d a y bear d o w n from over the clock courteously to inquire w h a t business we h a d to be here i H o w did Davy come to be associated with the Royal Institution ? Dr. G a r n e t t from Glasgow h a d been a p p o i n t e d Resident Director a n d Professor o f Chemistry, but he wasn't h a p p y in L o n d o n ; the L o n d o n e r s were not h a p p y a b o u t his Scotch accent, a n d he d i d n ' t get on with R u m f o r d . So the C o u n t looked a r o u n d for a substitute to lecture. Dr. H o p e of E d i n b u r g h b r o u g h t D a v y to R u m ford's attention. Davy, r a t h e r a wild lad from Cornwall, son of a n i m p r o v i d e n t carver, h a d been a n apothecary's apprentice in Penzance. His interest in chemical philosophy h a d w o n h i m repute a n d he was a p p o i n t e d to take c h a r g e of Dr. Beddoe's P n e u m a t i c Institution in Bristol. T h e r e he h a d already m a d e a n a m e for himself in discovering the anaesthetic properties of nitrous oxide, a n d nearly killed himself by studying the effect of b r e a t h i n g c a r b o n monoxide! H e was still only 22 years of age when R u m f o r d sent for him. R u m f o r d a p p a r e n t l y w o n d e r e d w h e t h e r
the young m a n , t h o u g h obviously clever a n d intrepid, m i g h t not be a little u n c o u t h ; however, he was a p p o i n t e d in April, 1801, as 'Assistant Lecturer in Chemistry'. H e was to be allowed to lecture 'in the small lecture room'. H e forthwith gave some lectures o n ' G a l v a n i c P h e n o m e n a ' which received so m u c h acclaim t h a t R u m f o r d a n n o u n c e d 'let h i m c o m m a n d a n y a r r a n g e m e n t s which the Institution can afford'. O n the very next day, he was p r o m o t e d to lecture in ' t h e G r e a t T h e a t r e ' , where h e held his a u d i e n c e spellbound; in fact it was D a v y who b r o u g h t r e n o w n to R u m ford's c r e a t i o n - - t h e Royal Institution. Let us break off from D a v y for a m o m e n t a n d take a look at the Institution. W e are in n u m b e r 21 Albemarle Street. It b e c a m e the p r o p e r t y of the Institution in the year of its f o u n d a t i o n - - 1 7 9 9 . It was a brick G e o r g i a n house belonging then to a Mr. J o h n Mellish. T h e m a i n stairway is m u c h as it was 160 years ago, w h e n Mr. Mellish, r e t u r n i n g from h u n t i n g w i t h the Royal h o u n d s a n d crossing Hounslow H e a t h , was shot a n d fatally injured b y highwaymen. Sir J o s e p h Banks, R u m f o r d , a n d the Managers of the newly formed Institution decided to acquire the property. R u m f o r d set a b o u t reconstructing, along with his m a n Webster. ' T h e G r e a t T h e a t r e ' - - t h a t is where we a r e - - w a s built out from the n o r t h wall of the old house into w h a t was once the garden. It was constructed, roof a n d all, with great i m a g i n a t i o n a n d its acoustics proved excellent. It seems to have been completed, too, with dispatch, for Dr. G a r n e t t lectured in it a n d he left in May, 1801. ( T h e small lecture r o o m in which D a v y was allowed to give his first lectures was p r o b a b l y d o w n below where Mr. Webster used to d e m o n s t r a t e R u m f o r d ' s stoves to artisans.) T h e great theatre r e m a i n e d t h r o u g h the century m u c h as it was w h e n first built. It was not until 1928 t h a t it was recon, structed a n d b r o u g h t into line w i t h safety regulations. I can vouch that, in spite of renovation, the architect was able to retain the c h a r a c t e r a n d the general a p p e a r a n c e of the old T h e a t r e in which Davy, Faraday, T y n d a l l a n d D e w a r lectured, for I h a d the good fortune to a t t e n d a series of lectures by D e w a r here in 1904. (I h e a r d as a schoolboy the C u r i e s - - M o n s i e u r a n d M a d a m e - - - l e c t u r e here in 1902 soon after the discovery of radium, a n d later saw Moissan distil a b a r of gold in his electric
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SIR ALFRED EGERTON arc furnace: it was a memorable and spectacular experiment--the purple vapours of gold and the long green flames!) This lecture theatre is full of romance. T h e faqade Of the Institution which appeared in the print on the cover of the Symposium pamphlet, and which is now undergoing repair, was erected in 1838. Various other changes in the old house took place from time to time. The Royal Institution has maintained itself, conforming to the original proposals of Rumford, as a place where the progress and applications of science can be demonstrated. T h r o u g h the genius of its professors, the Royal Institution has also been a unique centre of research. It still continues these traditions. Besides the well-known Friday Evening Discourses, Sir Lawrence Bragg, the present Director, has provided courses of lectures for senior classes of the schools in the Metropolitan area. This is a great contribution to science teaching, for some 12,000 to 15,000 boys and girls a year are now coming to hear lectures illustrated by historical demonstrations and up-to-date experimental equipment. Sir Lawrence continues research work also and the work done here on the constitution of the protein, myoglobin, along with Kendrew working in Cambridge, is in the van of modern research. The following have been resident Professors of the Royal Institution : Thomas Garnett Thomas Young Sir Humphry Davy W. T. Brande Michael Faraday John Tyndall Sir James Dewar Sir William Bragg Sir Henry Dale Sir Eric Rideal E. N. da C. Andrade Sir Lawrence Bragg Now to return to that young man D a v y who brought renown to the Institution. W h a t was he like ? There is a copy in this building of the fine portrait by Thos. Lawrence which is in the possession of the Royal Society. O n e gets the impressign from that painting th.at Davy was handsome and tall. He wasn't tall (at most 5 ft. 7 in.), but he was impressive and good-looking. T h e earlier portrait (at age 23) on the stairs here, by Howard, makes this evident. H e won the hearts of London society, and it became 'the thing' for the intelligentsia of those days to attend his lectures. As a poet he commanded the respect and had the friendship of other writers of those days--Coleridge, Wordsworth, Maria Edgworth, Southey and later Walter Scott. H e had great power of appeal. We owe to him, more perhaps than to anyone
else, that sense of devotion which the pursuit of research into Nature's ways can inspire. He had faith in science in the cause of man. In spite of adulation, Davy never swerved from his devotion to science. It was not long after Davy was appointed that his fame as a chemist became widespread. H e received the Royal Society's Copley Medal in 1805, at the age of 27. His first Bakerian Lecture the following year brought him right to the fore as a chemical philosopher. In the next October he thrilled the scientific world by the isolation by electrolysis of potassium and sodium. As success followed success, the import of his work (all done here) was presented in a series of six Bakerian Lectures. He was appointed Secretary of the Royal Society in 1807, still continuing as Professor at the Royal Institution. In 1810 there was the brilliant paper on chlorine. Berzelius, one year younger than Davy, had been throughout these years his continental rival. Berzelius had to instruct his cook-assistant to speak no more of oxymuriatic acid, 'thou must call it chlorine, Anna, that is better!' Even Ampere in France was declaring Davy to be the greatest chemist of all t i m e - - t h e y did not all there like to acknowledge it. Davy was scarcely 30 when he had reached the full height of this fame. Napoleon announced, soon after Davy's first Bakerian Lecture, that he would found a prize for the best experiment made in the course of each year in the galvanic field, and that he desired to give by way of encouragement the sum of 60,000 francs to the person who, by his experiments and discoveries, should 'advance the knowledge of electricity and galvanism as much as did Franklin and Volta'. Foreigners of all nations were admitted to the competition. T h e Committee of the Institut de France nominated Davy. This caused trouble because animosity existed between France and Great Britain at that time. Davy commented: 'Some people say I ought not to accept the prize and there have been foolish paragraphs in the papers to that effect, but, if the two countries or Governments are at war, the men of science are not. T h a t would indeed be a civil war of the worst description. We should rather, through the instrumentality of men of science, soften the asperities of national hostility.' Davy never actually received the award. H a d the tares of modern civilization already begun to choke the growth of Davy's ideals ? Not long after the isolation of potassium Davy became dangerously ill. T h e Royal Institution was besieged by anxious inquirers. H e was held high in the public esteem. Cornish born, Davy was tough; he recovered. H e soon caught up with those on the continent--Berzelius, Gay-Lussac and others who were busy electrolysing. Davy did not relish rivals: he had to be at the summit.
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SIR ALFRED EGERTON W e pass o n to the year 1812. I quote from the M i n u t e s of the M a n a g e r s of the Institution, 11 May, 1812 . . . . ' M r . H a t c h e t t reported t h a t Sir H u m p h r y Davy, t h o u g h he c a n n o t pledge himself to deliver lectures, will be willing to accept the offices of Professor of Chemistry a n d Director of the L a b o r a t o r y a n d M i n e r a l Collection w i t h o u t salary.' This m i n u t e really records the fact t h a t D a v y h a d fallen in love with a well-to-do widow, Mrs. Apreece, a n d h a d m a r r i e d this lady of society a b o u t w h o m M a r i a E d g w o r t h wrote to a friend, Too many men have often seen their talents underrated, But Davy owns that his have been duly appreciated. L a d y D a v y could h a r d l y have a p p r e c i a t e d the letter she received from h i m soon after m a r r i a g e while working in Mr. C h i l d r e n ' s l a b o r a t o r y at T o n b r i d g e , in which he m a d e use of a ' c o m p o u n d more powerful t h a n g u n p o w d e r destined p e r h a p s at some time to change the n a t u r e of w a r . . . . A n explosion took place w h i c h has done m e n o h a r m t h a n t h a t of p r e v e n t i n g m e working this day a n d w h i c h I should not m e n t i o n at all except t h a t you m a y h e a r some foolish exaggerated a c c o u n t of it.' I t was nitrogen trichloride a n d he n e a r l y lost the sight of a n eye. T h i s is a b o u t the time F a r a d a y steps into the picture. Davy, t h o u g h he would be c o n t i n u i n g to work in the laboratory of the R o y a l Institution, was delivering his farewell lecture on 9 April, 1812. A y o u t h of 20 was sitting in the gallery over the clock taking notes. Those notes a n d the notes of the o t h e r three lectures were written out b y y o u n g Michael F a r a d a y a n d b o u n d by him. H e was a bookseller a n d b i n d e r ' s apprentice. T h a t is the q u a r t o volume which he sent to D a v y the following D e c e m b e r asking for the favour of a n interview, on the chance t h a t he m i g h t be allowed 'to e n t e r into the service of science'. Sir H u m p h r y h a d n o v a c a n c y to offer, but he g r a n t e d a n interview a n d promised to a r r a n g e t h a t books w h i c h the Institution n e e d e d to have b o u n d should be delivered to h i m for t h a t purpose. A little later, D a v y ' s eye b e i n g troublesome again, Michael was allowed to help with some of his papers. T h e n , one day, the h u m b l e household in which Michael lived w i t h his widowed m o t h e r was startled by the arrival of Sir H u m p h r y Davy's coach, from which a f o o t m a n alighted, and, knocking o n the door, h e left a note for y o u n g F a r a d a y from Sir H u m p h r y requesting h i m to call the next m o r n i n g . D a v y interviewed F a r a d a y b y the n o r t h w i n d o w of the a n t e room. Fortunately, Mr. Payne, the laboratory assistant, h a d come to blows with Mr. N e w m a n , the instrum e n t maker, a n d Mr. P a y n e had~'o be dismissed from his post immediately. F a r a d a y stepped into
Mr. Payne's shoes, b u t n o t w i t h o u t the wise counsel given to h i m by Davy, a n d quoted b y Faraday: ' A t the same time t h a t h e thus gratified m y desires as to scientific e m p l o y m e n t , he still advised m e not to give u p the prospects I h a d before me, telling me that Science was a h a r s h mistress; a n d , in a pecuniary p o i n t of view, b u t poorly r e w a r d e d those who devoted themselves to h e r service. H e smiled at m y notion of the superior m o r a l feelings of philosophic men, a n d said h e would leave m e to the experience of a few years to set m e right o n that matter.' As Professor K e n d a l l recalls, 'Life at the R o y a l Institution was certainly full of excitements d u r i n g the next few weeks, for the i n d o m i t a b l e D a v y h a d attacked with his voltaic b a t t e r y various compounds of fluorine a n d would h a v e isolated t h a t element if it h a d not been so active chemically.' T h e fumes of hydrofluoric acid b a d l y affected his nails a n d his eyes, so he t u r n e d once more for relaxation to nitrogen trichloride! O n 9 April, F a r a d a y wrote to his friend A b b o t t , ' I h a v e escaped (not quite u n h u r t ) from four different a n d strong explosions of the substance . . . . I was holding between m y t h u m b a n d finger a small tube containing 789grains of it . . . the explosion was so rapid as to blow m y h a n d open, tear off a p a r t of one nail, a n d has m a d e m y fingers so sore t h a t I c a n n o t use t h e m yet. O n repeating the experiment this m o r n i n g , the t u b e a n d a receiver were blown to pieces. I got a cut o n m y eyelid a n d Sir H u m p h r y bruised his h a n d . T h e e x p e r i m e n t was repeated a g a i n with a larger p o r t i o n of the substance. It stood for a m o m e n t or two a n d t h e n exploded with a fearful noise . . . Sir H u m p h r y a n d I h a d masks o n . . . Sir H u m p h r y h a d his face cut in two places, a n d a violent blow on the forehead, struck t h r o u g h a considerable thickness of silk a n d leather. W i t h this e x p e r i m e n t he has for the present concluded.' Such was F a r a d a y ' s initiation in e x p e r i m e n t a l chemistry u n d e r Davy. T h e next episode was the travel with L a d y Davy, F a r a d a y a n d the p o r t a b l e chemical chest, fishing rods, etc., o n the c o n t i n e n t - - a l m o s t a twoyear j o u r n e y of scientific i n q u i r y to France, Italy, Sicily a n d back t h r o u g h G e r m a n y . T h e w a r against N a p o l e o n was b e i n g fought, b u t Davy was given entry via Morlaix into the e n e m y country. T h e y started off'in O c t o b e r , 1813, a n d d i d not get back until April, 1815. E v e n so, their r e t u r n was hurried, because the state of affairs was n o n e too happy. N a p o l e o n h a d escaped from Elba. Davy was a n incorrigible t r a v e l l e r - - i n d e e d his last book was entitled Consolation in Travel, or the last days of a Philosopher. Not so F a r a d a y , w h o wrote to his m o t h e r w h e n he got back from the big tour that he would n e v e r leave E n g l a n d again!
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SIR ALFRED EGERTON It was an awkward time for Faraday; the savants w h o m they met soon recognized the genius of Sir H u m p h r y ' s valet-assistant. Much has been written about Davy's activities on that j o u r n e y - - s o m e of it was related to the newly discovered element, iodine; some to such subjects as 'the colour used in painting by the ancients'. At Pistra-Mala, in the Apennines, D a v y examined a column of fire produced by 'gaseous matter constantly disengaged from a schist stratum'. H e got Faraday to collect some of the gas, returned to Florence and, in the laboratory of the Grand Duke, showed that the gas was 'marsh gas'. He said 'at some future period new sources of wealth m a y he opened to Tuscany from this invaluable mineral t r e a s u r e ' - a prophecy now fulfilled. This little investigation foreshadowed Davy's next achievement soon after he got home. Faraday was soon busy getting things shipshape in the Royal Institution laboratory. D a v y was not tidy. In July, Davy accompanied by Lady Davy went to Scotland on a round of visits, and to shoot and probably to fish, as he had a passion for that sport. There had been some appalling mine accidents. 'A Society for the Prevention of Accidents in Coal Mines' had been formed. Mr. Buddle, a mine engineer, was convinced that 'they must look to scientific men for assistance to provide a cheap and effective remedy'. T h e i r earlier approach to Davy had been delayed by his absence abroad, but now Dr. Gray (later Bishop of Bristol) made the approach and Davy's reply was: 'It will give me great satisfaction if my chemical knowledge can be any use in an inquiry so interesting to humanity, and I beg you will assure the Committee of my readiness to cooperate with them in any experiments or investigations on the subject . . . . ' This reply was characteristic of him. He had great confidence in himself in solving such problems, and also he loved to feel that science was in the service of man. The problem and the stake were just such ~s appealed to him. Towards the end of August he called at the Wallsend Colliery (near Newcastle), met Mr. Buddle, learnt about the problem and went off to shoot on the Yorkshire moors. Thinking probably accompanied his sport in the fresh air. When back in London, he received at the beginning of October the promised samples of firedamp and started his experiments. Less than a fortnight later, he wrote to Mr. Hodgson (the parson in the mining district) : ' M y experiments are going so successfully I hope in a few days to send you an account of them. I am going to be fortunate beyond m y expectations'. O n 30 October he wrote to Dr. Gray describing his success and later sent details of four distinct models of the Safe lamp 'which depended on the
principle that explosive mixtures of firedamp will not pass through small apertures or tubes'. H e r e are those actual lamps. So the safety lamp was invented: it was based on a scientific inquiry into the manner in which heat can be conducted away from burning gases to such extent that the flame would be quenched. The speed of achievement was extraordinary. We will not go into the rest of this story--you already know it well. There were great moments and moments of exasperation. Davy who, in spite of his warnings to Faraday, was an idealist, suffered in being drawn into the world of affairs, but throughout he held to his high principles. The lamp was a tremendous success: it made possible the development of the coal resources not only of England but elsewhere. England became rich. Neither Davy nor the Royal Institution financially profited, except in prestige. Davy was presented with some gold plate, which by his will he left to the Royal Society to be melted down to provide a medal. During the next two years (1815-1817) Davy was full out on the study of Combustion and Flame. Faraday was at his elbow. Is that perhaps why the work, although it had all Davy's dash, had a methodical character ? I have always considered that the paper to the Royal Society in 1817 was a masterpiece and, in it, are the seeds of the whole subject in which the Combustion Institute interests itself. Bone commented 'there is no better model of logical experimental procedure, accurate reasoning, philosophical outlook, and fine literary expression'. Davy examined the limits of combustion, experimented on the speed of flame travel, and the ignitability of mixtures, attempted determination of flame temperatures by rise of pressure during explosion, studied the effect of diluents, of inhibitors and of reduction of pressure on combustion. T h e quenching of flames, the m i n i m u m volume of flame for ignition, the production of carbon in flames, the abstraction of heat by surfaces, the catalytic effect of surfaces, slow flameless combustion, all these matters came within the range of his investigations. There was romance and thrill in all that Davy did. His intrepid experiments on nitrous oxide and other gases, his instinct about the electrical character of the forces between substances, his spectacular isolation of the alkali metals; the demonstration of the elementary nature of chlorine; the discovery of Faraday, and Faraday's loyalty to his master; the travels all over Europe with his chemical chest; the rapidity with which he caught up with his rivals; the invention of the safety lamp; the birth of combustion as a specialized field of inquiry--all this was romantic. It is indeed romantic that the immense activity in xl
SIR ALFRED E G E R T O N combustion evidenced b y our fat Symposia volumes can be traced back along m a n y p a t h s leading to Davy a n d the fact t h a t F a r a d a y was then the new assistant in the laboratory. I a m not here to give a n historical a p p r e c i a t i o n of Davy's work, but merely to recall to you his greatness a n d his i m p o r t a n c e in the d e v e l o p m e n t of combustion. Such a fierce flame shining b r i g h t
a n d inspiring his contemporaries inevitably exhausted its energy supply. After the age of 45, h e produced n o t h i n g of great consequence. After w a n d e r i n g a r o u n d Europe for a year or two seeking to restore his health, the flame died away. D a v y belonged to the world. His grave is in Geneva. T h e Royal Institution is his spiritual h o m e a n d we pay h o m a g e to his memory.
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Davy and The Royal Institution
Doubtless you guessed w h y it was chosen to hold the opening meeting here in the Royal Institution. H u m p h r y Davy was the pioneer in the study of C o m b u s t i o n a n d Flame, a n d it was here t h a t his work was done. Most of you know quite as well as I do the story of this place a n d the story of Davy a n d h o w F a r a d a y b e c a m e his assistant, but, o u t of h o m a g e to those great men, should we not spend some of our time calling t h e m to m i n d ? T h e R o y a l Institution was founded by B e n j a m i n T h o m p s o n in 1799. T h o m p s o n was b o r n a t Wob u r n n e a r Rumford, Mass., so w h e n h e was created a C o u n t of the Holy R o m a n E m p i r e he took the n a m e C o u n t R u m f o r d . H e belongs to the U n i t e d States, to England, to Bavaria, to F r a n c e ; to the laws of radiation a n d conservation of energy; to oil lamps a n d to heating appliances, a n d a host of o t h e r affairs. Mr. S e c r e t a r y - - C o l o n e l - - A d m i r a l --Philosopher Thompson--so Gibbon dubbed him. A l t h o u g h he a p p r o v e d of very littlqktowards the end of his life, h e would have a p p r o v e d wholeheartedly of our meeting here. T h a t is just as well. I should indeed feel very nervous if the C o u n t were suddenly to a p p e a r in angry mood, or D a v y be disturbed a n d come u p from the l a b o r a t o r y below, or F a r a d a y bear d o w n from over the clock courteously to inquire w h a t business we h a d to be here i H o w did Davy come to be associated with the Royal Institution ? Dr. G a r n e t t from Glasgow h a d been a p p o i n t e d Resident Director a n d Professor o f Chemistry, but he wasn't h a p p y in L o n d o n ; the L o n d o n e r s were not h a p p y a b o u t his Scotch accent, a n d he d i d n ' t get on with R u m f o r d . So the C o u n t looked a r o u n d for a substitute to lecture. Dr. H o p e of E d i n b u r g h b r o u g h t D a v y to R u m ford's attention. Davy, r a t h e r a wild lad from Cornwall, son of a n i m p r o v i d e n t carver, h a d been a n apothecary's apprentice in Penzance. His interest in chemical philosophy h a d w o n h i m repute a n d he was a p p o i n t e d to take c h a r g e of Dr. Beddoe's P n e u m a t i c Institution in Bristol. T h e r e he h a d already m a d e a n a m e for himself in discovering the anaesthetic properties of nitrous oxide, a n d nearly killed himself by studying the effect of b r e a t h i n g c a r b o n monoxide! H e was still only 22 years of age when R u m f o r d sent for him. R u m f o r d a p p a r e n t l y w o n d e r e d w h e t h e r
the young m a n , t h o u g h obviously clever a n d intrepid, m i g h t not be a little u n c o u t h ; however, he was a p p o i n t e d in April, 1801, as 'Assistant Lecturer in Chemistry'. H e was to be allowed to lecture 'in the small lecture room'. H e forthwith gave some lectures o n ' G a l v a n i c P h e n o m e n a ' which received so m u c h acclaim t h a t R u m f o r d a n n o u n c e d 'let h i m c o m m a n d a n y a r r a n g e m e n t s which the Institution can afford'. O n the very next day, he was p r o m o t e d to lecture in ' t h e G r e a t T h e a t r e ' , where h e held his a u d i e n c e spellbound; in fact it was D a v y who b r o u g h t r e n o w n to R u m ford's c r e a t i o n - - t h e Royal Institution. Let us break off from D a v y for a m o m e n t a n d take a look at the Institution. W e are in n u m b e r 21 Albemarle Street. It b e c a m e the p r o p e r t y of the Institution in the year of its f o u n d a t i o n - - 1 7 9 9 . It was a brick G e o r g i a n house belonging then to a Mr. J o h n Mellish. T h e m a i n stairway is m u c h as it was 160 years ago, w h e n Mr. Mellish, r e t u r n i n g from h u n t i n g w i t h the Royal h o u n d s a n d crossing Hounslow H e a t h , was shot a n d fatally injured b y highwaymen. Sir J o s e p h Banks, R u m f o r d , a n d the Managers of the newly formed Institution decided to acquire the property. R u m f o r d set a b o u t reconstructing, along with his m a n Webster. ' T h e G r e a t T h e a t r e ' - - t h a t is where we a r e - - w a s built out from the n o r t h wall of the old house into w h a t was once the garden. It was constructed, roof a n d all, with great i m a g i n a t i o n a n d its acoustics proved excellent. It seems to have been completed, too, with dispatch, for Dr. G a r n e t t lectured in it a n d he left in May, 1801. ( T h e small lecture r o o m in which D a v y was allowed to give his first lectures was p r o b a b l y d o w n below where Mr. Webster used to d e m o n s t r a t e R u m f o r d ' s stoves to artisans.) T h e great theatre r e m a i n e d t h r o u g h the century m u c h as it was w h e n first built. It was not until 1928 t h a t it was recon, structed a n d b r o u g h t into line w i t h safety regulations. I can vouch that, in spite of renovation, the architect was able to retain the c h a r a c t e r a n d the general a p p e a r a n c e of the old T h e a t r e in which Davy, Faraday, T y n d a l l a n d D e w a r lectured, for I h a d the good fortune to a t t e n d a series of lectures by D e w a r here in 1904. (I h e a r d as a schoolboy the C u r i e s - - M o n s i e u r a n d M a d a m e - - - l e c t u r e here in 1902 soon after the discovery of radium, a n d later saw Moissan distil a b a r of gold in his electric
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SIR ALFRED EGERTON arc furnace: it was a memorable and spectacular experiment--the purple vapours of gold and the long green flames!) This lecture theatre is full of romance. T h e faqade Of the Institution which appeared in the print on the cover of the Symposium pamphlet, and which is now undergoing repair, was erected in 1838. Various other changes in the old house took place from time to time. The Royal Institution has maintained itself, conforming to the original proposals of Rumford, as a place where the progress and applications of science can be demonstrated. T h r o u g h the genius of its professors, the Royal Institution has also been a unique centre of research. It still continues these traditions. Besides the well-known Friday Evening Discourses, Sir Lawrence Bragg, the present Director, has provided courses of lectures for senior classes of the schools in the Metropolitan area. This is a great contribution to science teaching, for some 12,000 to 15,000 boys and girls a year are now coming to hear lectures illustrated by historical demonstrations and up-to-date experimental equipment. Sir Lawrence continues research work also and the work done here on the constitution of the protein, myoglobin, along with Kendrew working in Cambridge, is in the van of modern research. The following have been resident Professors of the Royal Institution : Thomas Garnett Thomas Young Sir Humphry Davy W. T. Brande Michael Faraday John Tyndall Sir James Dewar Sir William Bragg Sir Henry Dale Sir Eric Rideal E. N. da C. Andrade Sir Lawrence Bragg Now to return to that young man D a v y who brought renown to the Institution. W h a t was he like ? There is a copy in this building of the fine portrait by Thos. Lawrence which is in the possession of the Royal Society. O n e gets the impressign from that painting th.at Davy was handsome and tall. He wasn't tall (at most 5 ft. 7 in.), but he was impressive and good-looking. T h e earlier portrait (at age 23) on the stairs here, by Howard, makes this evident. H e won the hearts of London society, and it became 'the thing' for the intelligentsia of those days to attend his lectures. As a poet he commanded the respect and had the friendship of other writers of those days--Coleridge, Wordsworth, Maria Edgworth, Southey and later Walter Scott. H e had great power of appeal. We owe to him, more perhaps than to anyone
else, that sense of devotion which the pursuit of research into Nature's ways can inspire. He had faith in science in the cause of man. In spite of adulation, Davy never swerved from his devotion to science. It was not long after Davy was appointed that his fame as a chemist became widespread. H e received the Royal Society's Copley Medal in 1805, at the age of 27. His first Bakerian Lecture the following year brought him right to the fore as a chemical philosopher. In the next October he thrilled the scientific world by the isolation by electrolysis of potassium and sodium. As success followed success, the import of his work (all done here) was presented in a series of six Bakerian Lectures. He was appointed Secretary of the Royal Society in 1807, still continuing as Professor at the Royal Institution. In 1810 there was the brilliant paper on chlorine. Berzelius, one year younger than Davy, had been throughout these years his continental rival. Berzelius had to instruct his cook-assistant to speak no more of oxymuriatic acid, 'thou must call it chlorine, Anna, that is better!' Even Ampere in France was declaring Davy to be the greatest chemist of all t i m e - - t h e y did not all there like to acknowledge it. Davy was scarcely 30 when he had reached the full height of this fame. Napoleon announced, soon after Davy's first Bakerian Lecture, that he would found a prize for the best experiment made in the course of each year in the galvanic field, and that he desired to give by way of encouragement the sum of 60,000 francs to the person who, by his experiments and discoveries, should 'advance the knowledge of electricity and galvanism as much as did Franklin and Volta'. Foreigners of all nations were admitted to the competition. T h e Committee of the Institut de France nominated Davy. This caused trouble because animosity existed between France and Great Britain at that time. Davy commented: 'Some people say I ought not to accept the prize and there have been foolish paragraphs in the papers to that effect, but, if the two countries or Governments are at war, the men of science are not. T h a t would indeed be a civil war of the worst description. We should rather, through the instrumentality of men of science, soften the asperities of national hostility.' Davy never actually received the award. H a d the tares of modern civilization already begun to choke the growth of Davy's ideals ? Not long after the isolation of potassium Davy became dangerously ill. T h e Royal Institution was besieged by anxious inquirers. H e was held high in the public esteem. Cornish born, Davy was tough; he recovered. H e soon caught up with those on the continent--Berzelius, Gay-Lussac and others who were busy electrolysing. Davy did not relish rivals: he had to be at the summit.
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SIR ALFRED EGERTON W e pass o n to the year 1812. I quote from the M i n u t e s of the M a n a g e r s of the Institution, 11 May, 1812 . . . . ' M r . H a t c h e t t reported t h a t Sir H u m p h r y Davy, t h o u g h he c a n n o t pledge himself to deliver lectures, will be willing to accept the offices of Professor of Chemistry a n d Director of the L a b o r a t o r y a n d M i n e r a l Collection w i t h o u t salary.' This m i n u t e really records the fact t h a t D a v y h a d fallen in love with a well-to-do widow, Mrs. Apreece, a n d h a d m a r r i e d this lady of society a b o u t w h o m M a r i a E d g w o r t h wrote to a friend, Too many men have often seen their talents underrated, But Davy owns that his have been duly appreciated. L a d y D a v y could h a r d l y have a p p r e c i a t e d the letter she received from h i m soon after m a r r i a g e while working in Mr. C h i l d r e n ' s l a b o r a t o r y at T o n b r i d g e , in which he m a d e use of a ' c o m p o u n d more powerful t h a n g u n p o w d e r destined p e r h a p s at some time to change the n a t u r e of w a r . . . . A n explosion took place w h i c h has done m e n o h a r m t h a n t h a t of p r e v e n t i n g m e working this day a n d w h i c h I should not m e n t i o n at all except t h a t you m a y h e a r some foolish exaggerated a c c o u n t of it.' I t was nitrogen trichloride a n d he n e a r l y lost the sight of a n eye. T h i s is a b o u t the time F a r a d a y steps into the picture. Davy, t h o u g h he would be c o n t i n u i n g to work in the laboratory of the R o y a l Institution, was delivering his farewell lecture on 9 April, 1812. A y o u t h of 20 was sitting in the gallery over the clock taking notes. Those notes a n d the notes of the o t h e r three lectures were written out b y y o u n g Michael F a r a d a y a n d b o u n d by him. H e was a bookseller a n d b i n d e r ' s apprentice. T h a t is the q u a r t o volume which he sent to D a v y the following D e c e m b e r asking for the favour of a n interview, on the chance t h a t he m i g h t be allowed 'to e n t e r into the service of science'. Sir H u m p h r y h a d n o v a c a n c y to offer, but he g r a n t e d a n interview a n d promised to a r r a n g e t h a t books w h i c h the Institution n e e d e d to have b o u n d should be delivered to h i m for t h a t purpose. A little later, D a v y ' s eye b e i n g troublesome again, Michael was allowed to help with some of his papers. T h e n , one day, the h u m b l e household in which Michael lived w i t h his widowed m o t h e r was startled by the arrival of Sir H u m p h r y Davy's coach, from which a f o o t m a n alighted, and, knocking o n the door, h e left a note for y o u n g F a r a d a y from Sir H u m p h r y requesting h i m to call the next m o r n i n g . D a v y interviewed F a r a d a y b y the n o r t h w i n d o w of the a n t e room. Fortunately, Mr. Payne, the laboratory assistant, h a d come to blows with Mr. N e w m a n , the instrum e n t maker, a n d Mr. P a y n e had~'o be dismissed from his post immediately. F a r a d a y stepped into
Mr. Payne's shoes, b u t n o t w i t h o u t the wise counsel given to h i m by Davy, a n d quoted b y Faraday: ' A t the same time t h a t h e thus gratified m y desires as to scientific e m p l o y m e n t , he still advised m e not to give u p the prospects I h a d before me, telling me that Science was a h a r s h mistress; a n d , in a pecuniary p o i n t of view, b u t poorly r e w a r d e d those who devoted themselves to h e r service. H e smiled at m y notion of the superior m o r a l feelings of philosophic men, a n d said h e would leave m e to the experience of a few years to set m e right o n that matter.' As Professor K e n d a l l recalls, 'Life at the R o y a l Institution was certainly full of excitements d u r i n g the next few weeks, for the i n d o m i t a b l e D a v y h a d attacked with his voltaic b a t t e r y various compounds of fluorine a n d would h a v e isolated t h a t element if it h a d not been so active chemically.' T h e fumes of hydrofluoric acid b a d l y affected his nails a n d his eyes, so he t u r n e d once more for relaxation to nitrogen trichloride! O n 9 April, F a r a d a y wrote to his friend A b b o t t , ' I h a v e escaped (not quite u n h u r t ) from four different a n d strong explosions of the substance . . . . I was holding between m y t h u m b a n d finger a small tube containing 789grains of it . . . the explosion was so rapid as to blow m y h a n d open, tear off a p a r t of one nail, a n d has m a d e m y fingers so sore t h a t I c a n n o t use t h e m yet. O n repeating the experiment this m o r n i n g , the t u b e a n d a receiver were blown to pieces. I got a cut o n m y eyelid a n d Sir H u m p h r y bruised his h a n d . T h e e x p e r i m e n t was repeated a g a i n with a larger p o r t i o n of the substance. It stood for a m o m e n t or two a n d t h e n exploded with a fearful noise . . . Sir H u m p h r y a n d I h a d masks o n . . . Sir H u m p h r y h a d his face cut in two places, a n d a violent blow on the forehead, struck t h r o u g h a considerable thickness of silk a n d leather. W i t h this e x p e r i m e n t he has for the present concluded.' Such was F a r a d a y ' s initiation in e x p e r i m e n t a l chemistry u n d e r Davy. T h e next episode was the travel with L a d y Davy, F a r a d a y a n d the p o r t a b l e chemical chest, fishing rods, etc., o n the c o n t i n e n t - - a l m o s t a twoyear j o u r n e y of scientific i n q u i r y to France, Italy, Sicily a n d back t h r o u g h G e r m a n y . T h e w a r against N a p o l e o n was b e i n g fought, b u t Davy was given entry via Morlaix into the e n e m y country. T h e y started off'in O c t o b e r , 1813, a n d d i d not get back until April, 1815. E v e n so, their r e t u r n was hurried, because the state of affairs was n o n e too happy. N a p o l e o n h a d escaped from Elba. Davy was a n incorrigible t r a v e l l e r - - i n d e e d his last book was entitled Consolation in Travel, or the last days of a Philosopher. Not so F a r a d a y , w h o wrote to his m o t h e r w h e n he got back from the big tour that he would n e v e r leave E n g l a n d again!
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SIR ALFRED EGERTON It was an awkward time for Faraday; the savants w h o m they met soon recognized the genius of Sir H u m p h r y ' s valet-assistant. Much has been written about Davy's activities on that j o u r n e y - - s o m e of it was related to the newly discovered element, iodine; some to such subjects as 'the colour used in painting by the ancients'. At Pistra-Mala, in the Apennines, D a v y examined a column of fire produced by 'gaseous matter constantly disengaged from a schist stratum'. H e got Faraday to collect some of the gas, returned to Florence and, in the laboratory of the Grand Duke, showed that the gas was 'marsh gas'. He said 'at some future period new sources of wealth m a y he opened to Tuscany from this invaluable mineral t r e a s u r e ' - a prophecy now fulfilled. This little investigation foreshadowed Davy's next achievement soon after he got home. Faraday was soon busy getting things shipshape in the Royal Institution laboratory. D a v y was not tidy. In July, Davy accompanied by Lady Davy went to Scotland on a round of visits, and to shoot and probably to fish, as he had a passion for that sport. There had been some appalling mine accidents. 'A Society for the Prevention of Accidents in Coal Mines' had been formed. Mr. Buddle, a mine engineer, was convinced that 'they must look to scientific men for assistance to provide a cheap and effective remedy'. T h e i r earlier approach to Davy had been delayed by his absence abroad, but now Dr. Gray (later Bishop of Bristol) made the approach and Davy's reply was: 'It will give me great satisfaction if my chemical knowledge can be any use in an inquiry so interesting to humanity, and I beg you will assure the Committee of my readiness to cooperate with them in any experiments or investigations on the subject . . . . ' This reply was characteristic of him. He had great confidence in himself in solving such problems, and also he loved to feel that science was in the service of man. The problem and the stake were just such ~s appealed to him. Towards the end of August he called at the Wallsend Colliery (near Newcastle), met Mr. Buddle, learnt about the problem and went off to shoot on the Yorkshire moors. Thinking probably accompanied his sport in the fresh air. When back in London, he received at the beginning of October the promised samples of firedamp and started his experiments. Less than a fortnight later, he wrote to Mr. Hodgson (the parson in the mining district) : ' M y experiments are going so successfully I hope in a few days to send you an account of them. I am going to be fortunate beyond m y expectations'. O n 30 October he wrote to Dr. Gray describing his success and later sent details of four distinct models of the Safe lamp 'which depended on the
principle that explosive mixtures of firedamp will not pass through small apertures or tubes'. H e r e are those actual lamps. So the safety lamp was invented: it was based on a scientific inquiry into the manner in which heat can be conducted away from burning gases to such extent that the flame would be quenched. The speed of achievement was extraordinary. We will not go into the rest of this story--you already know it well. There were great moments and moments of exasperation. Davy who, in spite of his warnings to Faraday, was an idealist, suffered in being drawn into the world of affairs, but throughout he held to his high principles. The lamp was a tremendous success: it made possible the development of the coal resources not only of England but elsewhere. England became rich. Neither Davy nor the Royal Institution financially profited, except in prestige. Davy was presented with some gold plate, which by his will he left to the Royal Society to be melted down to provide a medal. During the next two years (1815-1817) Davy was full out on the study of Combustion and Flame. Faraday was at his elbow. Is that perhaps why the work, although it had all Davy's dash, had a methodical character ? I have always considered that the paper to the Royal Society in 1817 was a masterpiece and, in it, are the seeds of the whole subject in which the Combustion Institute interests itself. Bone commented 'there is no better model of logical experimental procedure, accurate reasoning, philosophical outlook, and fine literary expression'. Davy examined the limits of combustion, experimented on the speed of flame travel, and the ignitability of mixtures, attempted determination of flame temperatures by rise of pressure during explosion, studied the effect of diluents, of inhibitors and of reduction of pressure on combustion. T h e quenching of flames, the m i n i m u m volume of flame for ignition, the production of carbon in flames, the abstraction of heat by surfaces, the catalytic effect of surfaces, slow flameless combustion, all these matters came within the range of his investigations. There was romance and thrill in all that Davy did. His intrepid experiments on nitrous oxide and other gases, his instinct about the electrical character of the forces between substances, his spectacular isolation of the alkali metals; the demonstration of the elementary nature of chlorine; the discovery of Faraday, and Faraday's loyalty to his master; the travels all over Europe with his chemical chest; the rapidity with which he caught up with his rivals; the invention of the safety lamp; the birth of combustion as a specialized field of inquiry--all this was romantic. It is indeed romantic that the immense activity in xl
SIR ALFRED E G E R T O N combustion evidenced b y our fat Symposia volumes can be traced back along m a n y p a t h s leading to Davy a n d the fact t h a t F a r a d a y was then the new assistant in the laboratory. I a m not here to give a n historical a p p r e c i a t i o n of Davy's work, but merely to recall to you his greatness a n d his i m p o r t a n c e in the d e v e l o p m e n t of combustion. Such a fierce flame shining b r i g h t
a n d inspiring his contemporaries inevitably exhausted its energy supply. After the age of 45, h e produced n o t h i n g of great consequence. After w a n d e r i n g a r o u n d Europe for a year or two seeking to restore his health, the flame died away. D a v y belonged to the world. His grave is in Geneva. T h e Royal Institution is his spiritual h o m e a n d we pay h o m a g e to his memory.
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