~~Joseph+Black~~

[] Name: Joseph Black Date of birth and death: 1728-1799 Country of origin: France Date of discovery: 1761 theory of latent heat

Joseph Black was born in France as one of fifteen children. When he was twelve, Joseph was sent off to school in Belfast to learn Latin and Greek, and at age 16, enrolled at Glasgow University in 1744 to study arts. After four years of this, he took up the study of medicine. The professor of medicine in Glasgow at this time was William Cullen who had instituted the first lectures in chemistry. Black moved to Edinburgh in 1752 to further his medical studies, but returned to Glasgow in 1756 as a professor of anatomy and botany, and lecturer in chemistry. The following year, Black was appointed Professor of Medicine in Glasgow. He remained in Glasgow until 1766 when he succeeded Cullen to the chemistry and medicine chairs in Edinburgh. He never married, although he was quite the ladies' man. Black is known for his discoveries of latent heat, specific heat, and carbon dioxide. In 1757, he was appointed Regius Professor of the Practice of Medicine at the University of Glasgow. In 1761 Black concluded that the application of heat to ice does not cause its immediate liquefaction, rather the ice absorbed the heat without a rise in temperature. Additionally, Black observed that the application of heat to boiling water does not result in immediate evaporation. From these observations, he concluded that the heat applied must have combined with the ice particles and boiling water. The theory of latent heat marks the beginning of thermal science.

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