Professor Daniel Rutherford (3 November 1749 – 15 November 1819) was a Scottish
chemistA chemist is a scientist trained in the science of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density, acidity, size and shape. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component...
and
physicianA physician — also known as medical practitioner, doctor of medicine, medical doctor, or simply doctor — practices the ancient profession of medicine, which is concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease or injury...
who is most famous for the isolation of
nitrogenNitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N and atomic number 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78% by volume of Earth's atmosphere.Many industrially important...
in 1772.
When Joseph Black was studying the properties of
carbon dioxideCarbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom. It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure and exists in Earth's atmosphere in this state...
, he found that a candle would not burn in it. When a candle was burned in a closed container of air, the candle would go out eventually, and the remaining air would not support a
flameA flame , is the visible gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic reaction taking place in a thin zone...
.
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Professor Daniel Rutherford (3 November 1749 – 15 November 1819) was a Scottish
chemistA chemist is a scientist trained in the science of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density, acidity, size and shape. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component...
and
physicianA physician — also known as medical practitioner, doctor of medicine, medical doctor, or simply doctor — practices the ancient profession of medicine, which is concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease or injury...
who is most famous for the isolation of
nitrogenNitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N and atomic number 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78% by volume of Earth's atmosphere.Many industrially important...
in 1772.
Isolation of nitrogen
When Joseph Black was studying the properties of
carbon dioxideCarbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom. It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure and exists in Earth's atmosphere in this state...
, he found that a candle would not burn in it. When a candle was burned in a closed container of air, the candle would go out eventually, and the remaining air would not support a
flameA flame , is the visible gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic reaction taking place in a thin zone...
. This was normal, but when the carbon dioxide (caused by the candle) was absorbed by chemicals, some air was not absorbed. The air that remained did not support a flame.
He turned this problem over to his student at the time, Daniel Rutherford. Rutherford kept a mouse in a space with a confined quality of air until it died. Then, he burned a candle in the remaining air until it went out. Afterwards, he burned
phosphorusPhosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus is commonly found in inorganic phosphate rocks. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms - white phosphorus and red phosphorus...
in that, until it would not burn. Then the air was passed through a carbon dioxide absorbing
solutionIn chemistry, a solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of two or more substances. In such a mixture, a solute is dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent. Gases may dissolve in liquids, for example, carbon dioxide or oxygen in water. Liquids may dissolve in other liquids. Gases can...
. The remaining air did not support combustion, and a mouse could not live in it.
Rutherford called the
gasThis page is about the physical properties of gas as a state of matter. For the uses of gases, and other meanings, see Gas .A gas is one of four states of matter. Near absolute zero, a substance exists as a solid...
(which we now know would have consisted primarily of
nitrogenNitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N and atomic number 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78% by volume of Earth's atmosphere.Many industrially important...
) “noxious air” or “phlogisticated air”.
Rutherford reported the experiment in 1772. He and Black were convinced of the validity of the
phlogiston theoryThe phlogiston theory , first stated in 1667 by Johann Joachim Becher, is a defunct scientific theory that posited the existence of a fire-like element called "phlogiston" that was contained within combustible bodies, and released during combustion...
, so they explained their results in terms of it.
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