What is breathed by the
1620 first submariners in the world?
The secret to obtaining oxygen by Cornelius van Drebbel.
source: http://www.critical.ru/calendar/oxigen1.htm
Prior to the official the discovery of oxygen, chemists probably already produced this gas in different ways, but did not know that were holding a new element in their hands. It seems, in fact, oxygen was discovered much earlier than the official date. Proof of this can be in the history associated with the creation of the world's first submarine by Cornelius Van Drebbel (Drebbel, Cornelius, 1572-1633). At about 1620 (in the literature there is no exact date), he demonstrated in London, the English King James I and several thousand spectators gathered on the shore of the Thames, the world's first submarine.
The first
written mention of the Drebbel boat refers to 1625.
It belonged to the German scientist Johann Faber, who recorded the following
words of Drebbels son-in-law, Abraham Kuffler:
«People who swam under water on this vessel,
invented by the remarkable Dutch genius Cornelis Drebbel [ Ed. Note Critical: actually he mentioned the
Danish nationality] and designed in London (England), where the ship can be
seen even now, solemnly swore to me that while on the surface of the river
ravaged storm, they were deep under water, not experiencing any difficulties.
On the vessel may be 24 people, eight of them rowing, while the rest remained
in their small cabins, the absence of air for 24 hours brought them suffering,
and they were satisfied with the air that was placed in a small vessel, on
expiry of this period they raised on the surface, removing the top cover to the
vessel and leaving it open for some time, lay fresh air, and then close the
lid, the vessel could be immersed in water as deep as the captain wished - even
at the 50 fathom depth [about 91 m]. But that will surprise you even more: they
ship on compass and know where they are, and the large vessel easily moved
through oars. The following fact seems incredible: that portion of the vessel,
where the rowers sat, had no bottom, so that every time they saw the water, and
nevertheless, it did not lead them in horror, as being in their seats a little
higher than water, they never dealt with their feet »(cited in« Cornelius van Drebbel. Dreams. Projects. The reality ». Yu Polunov).
It is
possible that this story with the words of Drebbels
son-in-law is replete with some exaggeration, especially in the area where the
maximum depth of immersion of the boat is described. This is not surprising,
because Drebbels family, brothers Abraham and Johan Kyufflery, not only to helped Drebbel
in the design and manufacture of his devices, but also made great efforts to
ensure that they became known as the broadest possible range of British and
European scientists . They also acted as sales agents for Drebbel,
demonstrating, and not without success marketing his microscopes and
telescopes. Genius being rarely combined with enterprise and business acumen,
the brothers successfully complemented the talent of their father.
Some more precise
technical details of the world's first submarine, are due to the Lyons nobleman
Baltazar de Monkonis, big
fan of all the «secret» and scientific innovations, in search of which he
traveled around the world. In 1663 de Monkonis
visited England, where he met and became friends with the brothers Kuffler and many members of the Royal Society of London.
Returning to France, he published in 1665 «Journal GUIDE», which described many
of Drebbels inventions. Regarding the submarine de Monkonis wrote:
«He also
made a ship that could sink beneath the waves when it was needed and that moved
under the water using oars. These paddles securely fastened to the outer side
of the ship through the leather `ukuporok`, so while
retaining their mobility. However, he could not sink deeper than twelve or
fifteen feet. If he tried to do so, the gravity of the water made it difficult
to rise to the surface, and it would have sunk ».
De Monkonis
probably had in mind the method of fixation of the oars through a leather seal,
preventing the infiltration of water into the boat. French engineer Denis Papen
(Denis Papin, 1647-1712?), intended to use the same
method as Drebbel in 1691, when he wrote in his own
draft of a submarine:
«... Paddles shall be secured by pieces of skin, as
they say it is done in Drebbels boat ».
In 1631 Constantin
Huygens - Secretary of the Netherlands Ambassador in London, a distinguished
poet and statesman, father of the great physicist, engineer and mathematician
Christian Huygens, spoke with great delight spoke about the boat:
« Worthy all other collected Drebbel inventions, it was a small boat in which he calmly fell under the water, holding the King and several thousand Londoners the greatest strain. The vast majority of these people thought that the man who so skillfully remained invisible to them over (as said), three hours had already died as suddenly, he unexpectedly raised to the surface at a considerable distance from where it plunged into the water; with him there were several participants in this dangerous business; they testified that they had not experienced any difficulties or fear of the water and that they dropped on the depth, when so desired, and raised when they wished to do so, they sailed to where wanted, rising to the surface water, and again descending so deeply, as desired ... They did in the belly of the whale, all that usually do people who are on the ground, and did so without any difficulty. From all the above it is easy to conclude what would be the benefits of this bold claim in the days of war, when (as I have repeatedly heard from the Drebbel), enemy ships, standing in the security on the anchor can be hiddenly and suddenly attacked by water, and sunk through Tara - the very tool, whose terrifying force is used today in the capture of a gate or bridge » (cited in« Cornelius van Drebbel. Dreams. Projects. The reality ». Polunov Yu).
Of all the technical and historical details related to the Drebbel
boat, we, of course, are primarily interested in the treatment of this
invention to the history of discovery of oxygen. Along with various technical
tasks that Drebbel had to deal with the construction
of the boat (hull pressurization, ports for oars, etc.), he was confronted with
the task of providing breathing air for command and passengers needed for and
coped brilliantly with this seemingly unsolvable problem for its time. We know
that a healthy person in a safe condition for the day pumps about 7200 liters
of air through the lungs taking back 720 liters of oxygen. In addition, there
are severe breathing problems indoors due to the accumulation of carbon
dioxide. In connection with the description of this boat, the witnesses are
that from time to time one still was forced to climb onto the surface of water
for ventilation.
However, the testimony of numerous
witnesses, the inventor of the submarine successfully, albeit partially, solved
the problem of breathing with the help of chemistry.
Robert Boyle wrote in 1660 in the
above mentioned book «New Physico-Mechanical
Experiments, Touching the Spring of the Air and its Effects» (
«New physic mechanical experiments concerning the elasticity of air»):
«... except the mechanical
design of the boat, the inventor had a chemical solution (liquor), which he
considered essentially secret to diving. And when from time to time he judged
that suitable for breathing air has already partly spent and made it difficult
to breath in the boat, he could uncork a vessel filled with this solution,
quickly fill the air in such a vital part of the content that would make it
suitable for re - breathing in a long time ».
Drebbels
method of oxygen fell in the area of military secrets, and therefore kept in
the strictest secrecy. Interestingly, from what one could derive, Cornelius Van
Drebbels oxygen does not exclude the «barium» cycle
option (preparing oxygen by the method of Brin):
« Drebbels Secret solution » could be a solution of hydrogen peroxide: BaO2 + H2SO4 = BaSO4 + H2O2 2 H2O2 = 2H2O + O2 Incidentally submarines designers afterwards followed this path. However, numerous statements by Drebbel contemporaries and those scientists who knew about his boat from the words of eyewitnesses or rumors, soars in the scientific community, allow a high degree of credibility to suggest that Drebbel used for the «recovery» of air in the submarine oxygen, which he learned to produce by heating saltpeter:
The
inventor himself did not leave any indications on this point, with the exception
of one, rather vague in its place «Concise treatise on the nature of the
elements» (Ein kurzer Tractat von der Natur der Elementen, Leiden, 1608), from which we can conclude that
Drebbel experimentally found the dissociation of a
gas when heating nitrate: «It is very dry, fine or hot
air, rapidly penetrating into serious heavy clouds, expanding them, making
thin and, moreover, making a different composition of air, resulting in them
instantly increasing the volume of hundreds of times; this is a terrible
traffic, which are destroying and breaking, displaces and moves the air until
the volume and density did not align and it is the state of rest. It happens
when an amount of nitrate decomposes and breaks down the constituent parts in
the power of fire and thus changing the quality of air, or when a wet hand or
a piece of cloth around white hot iron or molten lead, which due to thermal
expansion crack and burst with a noise like thunder » (cited in« Cornelius van Drebbel.
Dreams. Projects. The reality ». Polunov Yu). |
Thus, the genius
of Robert Boyles prediction of the existence of a «vital part»
in the air and the success of experiments of the «Oxford Group»
were largely prepared by Cornelius van Drebbel. A
huge interest in the Drebbel «secret» was shown by
other members of the Royal Society of London. For example, Sir Kenelm Digbi (1603-1665) January
23, 1661 made in the «Gresham College» segment of «the cradle of the Royal
Society», a report «Considerations related to the vegetation of plants»,
which was published in the same year in London as separate booklet. The report
contained a description of the experiments related to growth and development of
plants. Digbi argued that both plants and animals
absorb the «special food», in the water and air. «In the air there is, - he
said - the hidden life of food (hidden food of life) ». In itself, this
statement is true, and does honor to its author. But Digbi
mistaken, believed that one substance is the basis of nutrition and plant and
animal species, in other words, it does not distinguish between nitrogen and
oxygen. According to his theory, the roots of plants absorb in the ground
«nitrogenous salt» (nitrous salt), i.e. nitrate, and the latter, in turn,
absorbed from the air «hidden food of life».
But once it went on nitrate, the Rapporteur was very appropriate, and by the way mentioned
Cornelius Drebbel in his report. The greatest
interest for us is in the following observation Digbi:
«Cornelis Drebbel,
collected a large amount of nitrate in a narrow chamber (narrow room), to
revive and restore the weakened forces of the guests who were in his cozy house
underwater, when they have been consuming entire balm (they had fed upon all
the balsam), contained in the air chamber: opening the container (phial), he
gave the opportunity to fresh alcohol to evaporate in the lean and shady air ».
So, for Digbi, Drebbel entered «hidden food of life» (i.e. oxygen) in the
depleted air, and thus enabled guests to flat and continue to breathe freely
during their underwater journey, not pulling the boat up to the surface and not
using stocks with atmospheric air.
In conclusion, Cornelius Drebbels solution to
breathing problems in the invention of a submarine was repeatedly mentioned in
the minutes of meetings of the Royal Society of London in connection with the
discussion of problems of combustion and respiration. Thus, the record in the
minutes of the meeting of June 26, 1667 reads as follows:
«Mr Boyle said he knew a man who,
using a method known to him, could stay 3 hours under
water without damage to itself. This gives cause for reflection on what kind of
material makes the air unfit for breathing. Some
people think that it becomes unusable when it gets littered, and captured a
heavy steam. According to Mr. Hooke, the air has a special quality of
nitrogenous substances, reducing the life force, and if it is spent, the air
becomes unfit for breathing ».
It should be noted that the Secretary of the Royal
Society of London, Robert Guk (Robert Hooke,
1635-1703) has expressed similar views in the past. In its «micrography»
(1665) he wrote that the air contains a particular substance, such substance is
bound in the nitrate in a «compressed» condition.
The interest of scientists for the
invention of Drebbel on a way of breathing under
water continued unabated during the XVII century. For example, Edmund Dickinson
(1624-1707), physician of Charles II and James II, wrote: «I have heard from
scientists, and very honest people, who can be fully trusted, that there is a
way to prepare a kind of gas, which can fill the lack of fresh air, which makes
it possible to live for a long time in a small and completely enclosed space.
They also said that this method validated experiences held in London on the
River Thames by the well known Dutch Cornelis Drebbel, lying in the fact that a few people stayed a long
time under water in a closed boat, and every time their breathing became
difficult, it was facilitated quickly by opening a bottle and thus letting the
gas contained in it go out while it seemed that this introduced fresh air in
the closed space».
So, the above evidence of
contemporaries of Cornelius van Drebbel suggest that
he was not only far ahead of Carl Wilhelm Sheele
(1742-1786) and Joseph Priestley (1733-1804), opening the way to experimentally
obtain the oxygen, but also explored its benefits , then found a practical
application of his discovery.
However, the ungrateful humanity, or
rather that part of it, which is called «historians of science and technology»,
in three-plus centuries forgot about Cornelius Van Drebbel, remembering only the negative and distorting the
facts, neglecting biographies unobjectively
appreciating his work. But, except the creation of a submarine and open ways to
get oxygen through thermal decomposition of nitrate, he was one of the
inventors of the thermometer, and the sophisticated microscope. In addition, he
created the first oven with an automatic temperature control; proposed a method
of dyeing in scarlet ... in our virtual calendar we present a biography of this
distinguished inventor, noting the date of November 7, 1633, when Cornelius van
Drebbel, forgotten by all, died in absolute poverty
in London's Franciscan monastery.
But the memory of Cornelius van Drebbel gradually returned to the descendants. This is
clearly shown in the attribution of a lunar crater named Drebbel.
His mechanical talents, however, enabled him, if what is related be true, to construct a machine superior in some respects even to the diving bell. He contrived not only a vessel to be rowed under water, but also a liquor, to be used in the vessel, which supplied the place of fresh air. The vessel, which was made for King James I., carried twelve rowers, besides the passengers. It was tried in the river Thames between Westminster and Greenwich, and one of the persons who performed that submarine navigation, gave an account of it to one who afterwards communicated it to Mr.Boyle. In regard to the liquor, Mr. Boyle says that he learnt from a physician who married Drebbel's daughter, that it was used occasionally when the air in the submarine boat became corrupted by the breath of the company, and rendered unfit for respiration : at which time, by unstopping the vessel full of this liquor, such a proportion of vital parts could be restored to the impure air as would make it serve again for a considerable time. The secret of this liquor Drebbel would never disclose to more than one person, who told Mr. Boyle what it was.
Boyle erzählt, daß sich Cornelius Drebbel gerühmt, eine» iiquor erfunden zu haben, dessen Ausdünstungen die verdorbene iuft auss neue zur Respiration geschickt machten. Seine Erzählung ist folgende: — «Dieser Voraussetzung gemäß soll Cornelius „Dreobel nach der Aussage vieler glaubwürdigen „Personen ein Schiff erfunden haben, in welchem man „unter dem Wasser fahren kann. Denn Drebbel «glaubte, es sey nicht die ganze Masse der iuft, son- „dem nur ein gewisser geistiger Theil derselben, der sie „zur Respiration geschickt mache; wenn dieser verzehret „sey, so sey die übrige gröbere Masse der iuft unfähig, «das im Herzen befindliche iebeusfeuer zu unterhalten. „Er hatte daher, noch ausser der mechanischen Einrichtung seines Schiffes, einen chymischen iiquor ersun- „den, dessen Dämpfe, wenn man das Gefäß, worin« „er enthalte» war, öffnete, der durch die Respiration „verdorbenen iuft sehr schnell so viel iebensgeist mit» „theilen sollten, daß sie wieder zu dieser Absicht geschickt „gemacht würde. Als ich zu erfahren suchte, woraus „dieser seltsame iiquor bestünde, sagten Drebbelo Bekannte einstimmig, er habe dies niemand entdecken „wollen, ausser einer einzigen Person, die mir aber doch »sagte, was es sey «). "