ORLANDO SECTION NEWSLETTER

 

Vol. 14, No. 1

American Chemical Society

Jjanuary 2009

FEBRUARY PROGRAM   Date:                Monday, February 9, 2009 Where:             University of Central Florida                          Chemistry Bldg., Room 202                          Orlando, FL 32816   Time:               3:30 pm   Speaker:           Dr. Gary D. Christian Department of Chemistry                           University of Washington Topic:              “A Brief History of Analytical Chemistry:                          From the Beginnings to Modern Analytical Science”   A campus map of UCF may be found at http://campusmap.ucf.edu/flash/index.php

Abstract of the Talk

The teaching and practice of analytical chemistry reflects the evolution of measurement science overtime. Qualitative and quantitative measurements can be traced to pre­biblical times, and have been important throughout the history of humans, and today are key to the functioning of a modern society. The perceived value of gold and silver was the first incentive to acquire analytical knowledge. The chemical balance is recorded in the earliest documents found. Gravimetry emerged in the 17th century, and titrimetry, along with stoichiometric concepts, in the 18th and 19th centuries. Quantitative analysis textbooks, and hence the teaching of analytical chemistry as a discipline, appeared in the 19th century. The past century saw the development of instrumental techniques, and we now possess incredible capabilities for measurements. The speaker will trace the development of analytical science, presenting some of the pioneers through the eons, up to those who formed the basis for many of our modern techniques, and also early textbook authors and how books evolved.