Basics and Discovery of Atmospheric Chemicals - Air Pollution and Global Warming: History, Science, and Solutions - page 11

his appetite and ability to digest food. He became curi-
ous about the content of the water, so he set out to experi-
ment with it. While evaporating the water, he discovered
that it contained a solid material that had a salty taste,
melted on his tongue, and did not burn quickly or crackle
when placed on a fire (Hill, 1979). He also found that it
lost weight when heated. He called the salt sal mirabile
and referred to it as a universal medicine due to its heal-
ing ability. What he had discovered was sodium sulfate
decahydrate [Na 2 SO 4 -10H 2 O(s)], later referred to as
Glauber's salt .Although the salt he found was natural,
he was able to manufacture it in a laboratory by com-
bining common salt (sodium chloride) with oil of vitriol
(sulfuric acid). Without the hydrated water, sodium sul-
fate is a mineral now called thenardite , named after
Baron Louis Jacques Thenard (1777-1857), who found
it in Espartinas salt lake, near Madrid, Spain.
Glauber was also aware of the mineral ammonium
nitrate [NH 4 NO 3 (s)], which he called nitrum flam-
mans . Ammonium nitrate is not a common naturally
occurring mineral in soil, although it has been found
in Nicojack Cavern, Tennessee. Its mineral name is
nitrammite ,afterits composition.
In his topic, Miraculum Mundi ,Glauber provided a
recipe for producing the mineral ammonium sulfate
[(NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 (s)], which he called secret sal ammoniac ,
and stated that two alchemists, Paracelsus and Van Hel-
mont, may have used it. Ammonium sulfate is also a
natural sublimation product of the fumaroles of Mount
Ve suvius and Mount Etna. Paolo Mascagni (1752-
1815) first described the natural occurrence of this salt;
therefore, its mineral name today is mascagnite .

Figure 1.12. Johann Rudolf Glauber (1604-1670).
Edgar Fahs Smith Collection, University of
Pennsylvania Library.

1.2.1.17. Calcium Nitrate (Solid)
In 1675, Christopher Baldwin (1600-1682) wrote a
book in which he discussed the reaction of chalk [cal-
cite, CaCO 3 (s)] with nitric acid [HNO 3 (aq)] to pro-
duce the crystal calcium nitrate [Ca(NO 3 ) 2 (s)], which
is phosphorescent (glows in the dark). Because of its
appearance, he named the substance phosphorus, mean-
ing “light bearer.” It is now known as Baldwin's phos-
phorus because it differs from elemental phosphorus.
Calcium nitrate forms chemically in aerosol particles
from the reaction of the calcium ion and the nitrate ion.
Elemental phosphorus (P), a nonmetallic substance
that also releases light, was discovered in Germany
in 1669 by an alchemist, Hennig Brand (c. 1630-
c. 1710) of Sweden, who distilled a mixture of sand
and evaporated urine. The extraction of phosphorus
wasreplicated by Johann Kunckel (1630-1750) of
Germany, who knew both Baldwin and Brand, and

Hydrochloric acid is an abundant component of sea
spray particles.

1.2.1.16. Sodium Sulfate, Ammonium Nitrate,
and Ammonium Sulfate (Solids)
Sodium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, and ammonium
sulfate are all solid compounds found in atmospheric
aerosol particles. Johann Rudolf Glauber (1604-
1670; Figure 1.12), a German chemist, played a role
in understanding all three of these compounds. At age
twenty-one, Glauber was traveling to Vienna when he
came down with a severe fever that reduced his ability
to digest food. Inhabitants of the town he was passing
through suggested he drink from a well an hour's walk
away. Upon drinking from the well, Glauber regained