Inspiring air: A history of air-related science

This volume is a relevant scholarly achievement as it deals with instruments that were substantially neglected: eudiometers are instruments that most likely every chemist, and also quite a number of historians of science, have heard of and maybe even used.

However, to most people, both the instrument and the related practice appear to be straightforward. As we learn from Grapí’s analysis, this is not the case: there is a long and complex history behind these instruments.

A substantial achievement lies in making the complexity of the contexts in gas research accessible – this was relevant in biological, medical, and chemical contexts and also affected natural philosophy. The broad use of primary sources (and here are also instruments that survived to be mentioned) as well as secondary sources results in a very dense and comprehensive volume. It should be stressed that the author develops a clear and accessible narration that is despite being dense still very accessible.

The study is highly relevant to historians of science and of scientific experimentation. It may also be relevant to some scholars that focus on material culture studies.

Prof. Dr. Peter Heering,

Europa-Universität Flensburg, Germany