Work
Glauber carried out studies on the chemistry of wine production and had commercial success by licensing improvements. He was also an apothecary, supplying medicines, and known for providing free medical treatment to the poors. However, he is known for his contributions to inorganic chemistry and the fact that he was able to live from the proceeds of chemical production based upon his discoveries, and was thus an industrial chemist. His improvements to chemical processes and equipments (notably furnaces and distillation devices) make him an early chemical engineer.
In particular he was first to produce concentrated hydrochloric acid. He also made an improved process for the manufacture of nitric acid in 1648, by heating potassium nitrate with concentrated sulphuric acid. His production of sodium sulfate, which he called sal mirabilis or "wonderful salt", brought him fame and the honour of being named "Glauber's salt". It was an effective but relatively safe laxative at a time when purging (emptying the digestive tract) was a popular treatment for many diseases.
The chemical garden (or silica garden) was first observed and described by Glauber in 1649. In its original form, the chemical garden involved the introduction of ferrous chloride (FeCl2) crystals into a solution of potassium silicate (K2SiO3, water glass).
He was the first to synthesize and isolate antimony trichloride, arsenic trichloride, tin tetrachloride and zinc chloride.
In addition he wrote about 40 books. A visionary one is Dess Teutschlands Wohlfahrt (Germany's Prosperity) in which he proposed the chemical industries as a means for Germany's economic recovery after the Thirty Years War.
Read more about this topic: Johann Rudolf Glauber
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