The Invention of Air
Page 19
This was the most peripatetic of all my books. Parts of it were written in Brooklyn; on Martha’s Vineyard; on the coast of northern California; in London, Brighton, and Bath in the UK. But I wrote most of it on Shelter Island, looking out through the two forks of Long Island toward the Atlantic Ocean, following the Gulph Stream’s righthand turn toward England. Thanks to all the friends and family who accompanied me on those journeys or who made them possible, in particular: Donald and Mary Fraser, for their writing nook on Shelter; Paul Miller, Birmingham tour guide par excellence; and David Smith, who spent a lovely morning with me at Bowood House.
Finally, there’s my family: Alexa Robinson and our boys, Clay, Rowan, and Dean. Joseph Priestley lived in a world dramatically different from the one I live in, but the one aspect of his life that seems immediately familiar lies in his descriptions of life at home with Mary and the kids: writing in a house filled with the boisterous play of children; the daily intellectual camaraderie of sharing ideas with a lifelong partner. (Not to mention all the games!) Thanks to the four of you, as always, for your love and inspiration.
September 2008
Brooklyn
NOTES
Author’s Note
page
xiii president of the United States The candidate in question was the ordained minister Mike Huckabee, who finished second in the race for the Republican nomination. Huckabee was speaking at an early presidential debate in June of 2007. He went on to add: “If they want a president that doesn’t believe in God, there’s plenty of choice. My point [on the question of evolution] is, I don’t know. I wasn’t there. But I believe whether God did it in six days or whether he did it in six days that represented periods of time, he did it. And that’s what’s important. But you know, if anybody wants to believe they’re the descendants of a primate, they’re welcome to do it.”
Prologue: The Vortex
3 “a kind of column” Quoted in Lundy, p. 203.
6 “But during the voyage” Mittelberger, p. 24.
7 “We had many things to amuse us” Quoted in Jackson, p. 310.
7 “Our voyage at times was very unpleasant” Quoted in Moser, p. 21.
8 “Inquisitions and Despotisms are not alone” John Adams to Joseph Priestley, February 19, 1792. Quoted in Graham, p. 177.
10 “the waters mov’d away” De Vorsey, p. 106.
Chapter One: The Electricians
18 “It consists of clergymen” Griffith, p. 5.
18 His first trip to London Priestley 1904, p. 19.
20 “This proved a very suitable and happy connexion” Ibid., p. 30.
21 the many years Franklin spent poring over balance sheets Isaacson, p. 137.
23 “There is something however in the experiments of points” Benjamin Franklin to Peter Collinson, March 2, 1750.
24 “A man in Philadelphia in America” Van Doren, p. 170.
24 “You will find [Priestley] a benevolent, sensible man” Quoted in Schofield 1966, p. 14.
25 “Much was said this night” Crane, p. 229.
25 “a little of his preparation” Ibid., p. 224.
26 “No other work known to the history of science” Kuhn, p. 30.
27 “presented discovery as a set” Shaffer 1986, p. 207.
30 “I have made an experiment” Quoted in Schofield 1966, p. 15.
30 “I took a cork” Ibid., p. 21.
30 “I have made a great number of experiments” Ibid., p. 35.
34 “Were it possible to trace” Priestley 1775, p. xv.
35 “The History of Electricity” Ibid., p. i.
36 “to look down from the eminence” Ibid., p. iv.
36 “To demonstrate, in the completest manner possible” Ibid., p. 160.
40 “Nothing ever happened in baseball” Gould, p. 466.
43 contention that class identity, capital, and technological acceleration would be prime movers in the coming centuries . . . in ways that the original inventors never anticipated Marx just failed to predict correctly where they were all taking us as a society, in that he thought the dialectical progression of history was leading to the ultimate synthesis of a true communist state. In part his prediction failed because he neglected other macro forces, including the capacity of capitalism to evolve corrections to the problems it created, and in part because he couldn’t shake off the organizing principle of Hegel’s dialectic.
44 “Aside from occasional brief asides” Kuhn, p. xii.
47 thousands (or millions) of years to play out This layered view of cultural development was directly inspired by the pace layered diagram of civilization that I first encountered in Stewart Brand’s wonderful book, How Buildings Learn. Brand’s levels are slightly different, and are focused primarily on the speed at which each layer changes. The main categories are, going from fast to slow: Fashion; Commerce; Infrastructure; Governance; Culture; Nature.
50 “By the way” Schofield 1966, p. 54.
54 “The impact of the introduction of coffee” Standage, p. 135.
55 “In electricity, in particular” Priestley 1775, p. xii
Chapter Two: Rose and Nightshade
61 “The work of a button” Journal of Jonathan Williams, Jr., of His Tour with Franklin and Others through Northern England, May 28, 1771. Franklin, The Franklin Papers.
62 “made some very pretty Electrical Experiments” Ibid.
63 “When I want to admit a particular kind of air” Priestley 1790, p. 34.
65 “The plant was not affected” Priestley 1790, vol. 3, p. 250.
66 “I have just received the enclos’d” Benjamin Franklin to John Canton, August 15, 1771.
66 “[he] had very little knowledge of air” Priestley 1790, p. xx.
67 what was there to investigate? See Shapin and Schaffer’s superb Leviathan and the Air-Pump for more on the way the air pump transformed the science of pneumatic chemistry and helped define the now conventional notion of scientific experiments.
72 David Hartley, whose model of cognitive “vibrations” anticipated the modern theory of neuronal association Schofield summarizes the Hartley/ Priestley model of vibrations: “If two or more different vibrations occur at the same time, they will modify each other such that if any one takes place, another, or others, will be excited also, until finally one has a set of fixed vibrational tendencies that respond as triggered by any one of the set . . . Hence simple ideas, by association, become complex, and these more complex still, to produce, with experience and over time, all of our ideas, pleasures, and passions.” Schofield, 2004, p. 55.
74 “as soon as possible” Rutt 2003, p. 344.
76 “it burned perfectly” Priestley 1790, vol. 3, p. 250.
76 “Several times I divided the quantity of air” Ibid.
76 “You may depend on the account I sent you” Schofield 1966, p. 86.
77 “I presume that by this time” Joseph Priestley to Benjamin Franklin, July 1, 1772.
79 the cocktail of sunlight and oxygen was deadly Margulis and Sagan, p. 108. “This was by far the greatest pollution crisis the earth has ever endured. Many kinds of microbes were immediately wiped out. Oxygen and light together are lethal—far more dangerous than either by itself. They are still instant killers of those anaerobes that survive in the airless nooks of the present world.”
80 “That the vegetable creation should restore the air” Benjamin Franklin to Joseph Priestley, July 1772. We do not know the exact date of this letter, because no record of it exists beyond this excerpt from it that Priestley published.
82 “I hope this will give some check to the rage” Ibid.
83 “Once any quantity of air has been rendered noxious” Priestley 1790, vol. 3, pp. 255-56.
84 “I present you with this medal” Rutt 2003, p. 194.
85 “My Way is” Benjamin Franklin to Joseph Priestley, Sept. 19, 1772.
86 “Lord Shelburne is a statesman” Quoted in Jackson, p. 122.
88 “I never make the least secret” Priestle
y 1904, p. 109.
89 “Though it was taken out seemingly dead” Ibid.
89 “The feeling of it to my lungs” Ibid.
91 “More is owing to what we call chance” Ibid., pp. 102-3.
93 “It can be taken as an axiom” Jackson, p. 187.
93 “Burning added weight” Ibid.
94 “Ignoring Scheele” Kuhn, p. 55
97 albeit one with an asterisk The irony is that Priestley introduced his great discovery with a discourse on blind spots. He failed to recognize that the crucial error lay at the end of his reasoning, not the beginning.
100 “As he read the addresses” Rutt 2003, p. 210.
101 “I am sorry that the political world” Priestley 1790, vol. 1, p. xxvii.
Chapter Three: Intermezzo
105 older than the first dinosaurs For a more extensive account of Meganeura and the oxygen explosion of the Carboniferous, see David Berling’s superb book, The Emerald Planet.
108 “early after life began” Lovelock and Margulis, p. 2.
111 “global indigestion” Beerling, p. 50.
Chapter Four: The Wild Gas
121 “You will have heard” Benjamin Franklin to Joseph Priestley, May 16, 1775.
122 “At present am extremely hurried” Ibid. The modern reader may be entertained to see that the BlackBerry style of dropping subject pronouns for speed (“At present am extremely hurried”) was alive and well in an age where messages across the Atlantic took three months to reach their recipient.
123 “In one of your letters” Joseph Priestley to Benjamin Franklin, February 13, 1776.
123 “Though you are so much engaged” Joseph Priestley to Benjamin Franklin, September 27, 1779.
124 “I should rejoice much” Benjamin Franklin to Joseph Priestley, June 7, 1782.
127 “John Hyacinth Magellan” Jackson, p. 132. Magellan’s real name was Joao Jacinto de Magalhaes, though he adopted the Anglicized version during his London travels.
128 “Our want of powder” Kelly, p. 158.
128 “By Yorktown” Jackson, p. 202.
129 “It can truthfully be said” Kelly, p. 165.
129 “to the imminent hazard of our most valuable commerce” Quoted in Schofield 2004, p. 17.
129 “Ah, Priestley. An evil man, Sir.” Quoted in Kramnick, p. 4.
130 “Our zeal” Joseph Priestley to Benjamin Franklin, February 13, 1776.
131 “If Doctor Priestley applies to my librarian” Quoted in Schofield 2004, p. 21.
132 “[The] only method of attaining to a truly valuable agreement” Ibid., p. 27.
133 “This rapid process of knowledge” Priestley 1790, p. xxiii.
136 “to do more business” Schofield 1966, p. 204.
138 “They tried to dine at two o’clock” Uglow, p. 124.
138 “Our good friend, Dr. Darwin” Quoted in Wedgwood, p. 277.
139 “I am as rich as I wish to be.” Quoted in Gibbs, p. 139.
140 “I had indeed Thoughts” Benjamin Franklin to Richard Price, August 16, 1786.
141 “I know of no Philosopher” Benjamin Franklin to Joseph Priestley, July 29, 1786.
141 “Remember me affectionately” Franklin to Benjamin Vaughan, October 24, 1788.
142 “I spent the Day” The Diary of John Adams, April 19, 1786. Interestingly, while Priestley appears to have not met Thomas Jefferson for another ten years, their paths almost crossed in London that April. After recording his first encounter with Priestley, Adams spent the following day with Jefferson, visiting an estate outside of London. Adams, Adams Family Papers.
149 political power . . . south of the imaginary line between Bristol and London See http://www.ancestry.com/learn/library/article.aspx?=8707.
153 “The idolatry of the Christian church” Priestley 1871, p. 103.
153 “If I have succeeded in this investigation” Ibid., p. xi.
155 “To me, [Franklin] acknowledged” Rutt 2003, p. 212.
156 “I have read [Priestley’s] Corruptions of Christianity” Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, August 22, 1813.
156 “I am a Christian” Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, August 22, 1813.
157 “a long-lost time and place” Ellis, pp. 36-37.
158 “extraordinary attempt . . . to unsettle the faith” Quoted in Gibbs, p. 172.
158 “Unitarian principles are gaining ground” Joseph Priestley and Richard Price, pp. 101-102
160 “trade of the good town” Gibbs, p. 174.
160 “the liberty, both of that country and America” Garrett, p. 57.
161 “The wild gas” Burke, p. 8.
162 “Don’t you remember what a parlous” Quoted in Gibbs, p. 184.
163 “Whatever the modern republicans may imagine” Quoted in Gibbs, p. 198.
164 “A local artist” Thor, p. 127.
166 “where they said they meant to broil” Gibbs, p. 207.
168 “According we set off” Quoted in Thorpe 1906, pp. 131-33.
169 “Undaunted he heard the blows” Russell’s account is quoted at length in Thorpe, pp. 127-33.
170 “After living with you 11 years” Priestley 1791, p. 130.
170 “You have destroyed” Priestley 1791, p. 3.
171 “I shall be obliged to you” Schofield 1966, p. 262.
172 “We . . . vow to restore” Schofield 1966, p. 257.
Chapter Five: A Comet in the System
178 “The name of Joseph Priestley will be long remembered” Graham, p. 49.
178 “If I had but Fortunatus’s wishing-cap” Ibid., p. 63.
179 “Whether it be the effect of general liberty” Ibid., p. 67.
180 “I am happy and thankful” Moser, p. 17.
181 “I could now give a great deal” Ibid., p. 61.
181 “Could we have a Coach” Ibid., p. 76.
182 “learned, ingenious, and useful” John Adams to Abigail Adams, March 13, 1796.
182 “The [Discourses] will be printed” Ibid.
183 Priestley and Adams had breakfast alone together There is much interesting speculation about the exact date of this breakfast. See Graham, footnote on p. 95.
183 “My opinion is founded altogether upon revelation and the prophecies” John Adams to Thomas Jefferson, August 15, 1823.
184 “She had taken much pleasure” Quoted in Gibbs, p. 231.
184 “Having always been very domestic” Mosner, p. 12.
185 “a mere hut” Graham, p. 95.
190 “I may be doing wrong in writing so freely” Ibid., p. 117.
191 “I cannot help thinking that of late years” Ibid., p. 122.
191 “A meaner, a more artful, or a more malicious libel” Ibid., p. 123.
192 “I do not think it wise” John Adams to Thomas Pickering, August 16, 1798.
195 “To find in America the same maxims of government” Priestley 1826a, p. 167.
196 “the most precious gifts” Thomas Jefferson to Joseph Priestley, January 18, 1800.
197 “It was not till yesterday” Thomas Jefferson to Joseph Priestley, March 3, 1801.
200 “[For] the first time in my life” Quoted in Graham, p. 184.
200 “The choice you made of our country” Thomas Jefferson to Joseph Priestley, June 19, 1802.
201 “Tell Mr. Jefferson” Quoted in Graham, p. 164.
202 “Dr. Priestley’s health” London Times, January 28, 1804, p. 2.
202 “He had great merit in the contrivance of his apparatus” Monthly Review, pp. 150-51.
203 “He was the father of modern chemistry” Cuvier, pp. 209-231.
204 “That ideas should freely spread” Thomas Jefferson to Isaac McPherson, August 13, 1813.
206 “It may be my fate to be a kind of comet” Quoted in Gibbs, p. 96.
207 “The sentiment you have attributed to me” John Adams to Thomas Jefferson, June 10, 1813.
208 “As your name is subscribed to that law” John Adams to Thomas Jefferson, June 14, 1813.
208 “Whet
her the character of the times is justly portrayed” Thomas Jefferson to John Adams, June 15, 1813.
209 “the defining moment in the correspondence” Ellis 2002, p. 230. 210 “This great, excellent, and extraordinary Man” John Adams to Thomas Jefferson, July 18, 1813.
213 “For an object in which we see a perpetual progress” Priestley 1775, pp. i-ii.
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