Davy-Faraday Laboratory
The Davy-Faraday Laboratory of the Royal Institution is an English laboratory that was established and equipped by Ludwig Mond, F.R.S., as a dedicated center for research in pure and physical chemistry. The laboratory was opened on December 22, 1896, by the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), and was hailed as a significant contribution to British science.[1]
History
[edit]Mond generously endowed the laboratory with £100,000, including £38,000 for its construction and equipment and £62,000 as an endowment fund to ensure its ongoing maintenance and efficiency. The facility was furnished with modern instruments and appliances for conducting advanced research and was described as the only public laboratory in the world solely devoted to research in pure science at the time.[1]
Mond's vision for the laboratory included its association with the Royal Institution, which had a long history of groundbreaking research, notably by Humphry Davy and Michael Faraday, whose names the laboratory commemorates. The building was designed to accommodate independent investigators, and preference was given to those who had already demonstrated significant contributions to science.[1]
Lord Rayleigh and Sir James Dewar, prominent figures in physics and chemistry, served as the laboratory’s directors without remuneration.[2] The Prince of Wales praised the laboratory for its state-of-the-art facilities and its potential to advance scientific knowledge and innovation.[1]
Research conducted in the Davy-Faraday Laboratory includes:
- H. Debus: "Contributions to the History of Glyoxalic Acid"[2]
- Hugo Muller: "Quercitol, Cocositol, Inositol, Flavon"[2]
- Horace T. Brown: "Starch: Its Transformations and Derivatives"[2]
- J. Y. Buchanan: "The Specific Gravity of Soluble Salts"[2]
- J. Emerson Reynolds: "Silicon Researches"[2]
- J. E. Petavel: "Standards of Light" and "Gaseous Explosive Mixtures"[2]
- A. Scott: "Atomic Weight of Carbon"[2]
- W. J. Russell: "Action of Wood on Photographic Plates in the Dark"[2]
The Davy-Faraday Laboratory was celebrated as a pioneering establishment that supported the advancement of scientific research and the development of innovative ideas in the fields of chemistry and physics.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e "The Davy Faraday Research Laboratory". Nature. 55: 208–209. 1896-12-31. doi:10.1038/055208b0.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "The Davy Faraday Research Laboratory of the Royal Institution". Nature. 104 (2640): 264. 1919-11-06. doi:10.1038/104264c0.