Sir Humphry Davy essays

Sir Humphry Davy essays Davy's most important investigations were devoted to electrochemistry. Following Galvani's experiments and the discovery of the voltaic pile, interest in galvanic electricity had become widespread. The first chemical decomposition, by means of the pile were carried out in 1800 by Nicholson and Carlisle, who obtained hydrogen and oxygen from water, and who decomposed the aqueous solutions of a variety of common salts. Davy, too, began to example the chemical effects of electricity in 1800. He soon found that when he passed electrical current through some substances, these substances decomposed, (a process later called electrolysis). There it was certain that electrical forces could generate a current only when the electrolyte was capable of oxidizing one of the metals, and that the intensity of the voltage generated was directly related to the reactivity of the electrolyte with the metal. Evidently, Davy understood that the actions of electrolysis and of the voltaic pile were the sam e. His work led him to propose that, the elements of a chemical compound are held together by electrical forces. His first successes came in 1807 with the separation of potassium from molten potash and of sodium from common salt. Through electrolysis, Davy eventually discovered magnesium, calcium, strontium, and barium in 1808. Eventually, Sir Humphrey Davy created a giant battery in the basement of Britain's Royal Society. It was made of 2,000 pairs of plates and took up 889 square feet. The intensity of its effect (the voltage generated) was directly related to the reactivity of the electrolyte with the metal. Evidently, Davy understood that the actions of electrolysis and of the voltaic pile were the same. His work led him to propose that, the elements of a chemical compound are held together by electrical forces. Davy must have known of Lavoisier's suggestion that the alkali earths were oxides of unknown metals. He tried to separate the metals by elect...