William Hyde Wollaston FRS (August 6, 1766 – December 22, 1828) was an English chemist and physicist who is famous for discovering two chemical elements and for developing a way to process platinum ore. Image of William Hyde Wollaston assumed to be in the public domain This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... The premises of The Royal Society in London (first four properties only). ... August 6 is the 218th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (219th in leap years), with 147 days remaining. ... 1766 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... December 22 is the 356th day of the year (357th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1828 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification  -  by Athelstan 967  Area... A chemist pours from a round-bottom flask. ... The periodic table of the chemical elements A chemical element, or element for short, is a type of atom that is defined by its atomic number; that is, by the number of protons in its nucleus. ... General Name, Symbol, Number platinum, Pt, 78 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 10, 6, d Appearance grayish white Standard atomic weight 195. ...

PENIS The penis (plural penises, penes) is an external male sexual organ. ...

Life

He was born in East Dereham, Norfolk, the son of the priest-astronomer Francis Wollaston (1737-1815) and his wife Mary Farquier. In 1793 he obtained a doctorate in medicine from Cambridge University. During his studies there he became interested in chemistry, crystallography, metallurgy and physics. The mineral wollastonite is named after him. In 1800 he left medicine and concentrated on pursuing these interests instead of his trained vocation. Map sources for East Dereham at grid reference TF9812 East Dereham, also known simply as Dereham, is a town (population 15659) in Norfolk, England. ... Norfolk (IPA: //) is a low-lying county in East Anglia in the east of southern England. ... Francis Wollaston (23 November 1731 - 31 October 1815) was an English priest and astronomer. ... 1793 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... medicines, see medication and pharmacology. ... The University of Cambridge (usually abbreviated as Cantab. ... This article or section includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Crystallography (from the Greek words crystallon = cold drop / frozen drop, with its meaning extending to all solids with some degree of transparency, and graphein = write) is the experimental science of determining the arrangement of atoms in solids. ... Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and of materials engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. ... Physics (Greek: (phúsis), nature and (phusiké), knowledge of nature) is the science concerned with the fundamental laws of the universe. ... Wollastonite is a calcium inosilicate mineral (CaSiO3) that may contain small amounts of iron, magnesium, and manganese substituting for calcium. ...

Work

Wollaston is perhaps best known as a chemist. He became wealthy by developing the first physico-chemical method for processing platinum ore in practical quantities, and in the process of testing the device he discovered the elements palladium (symbol Pd) in 1803 and rhodium (symbol Rh) in 1804. General Name, Symbol, Number palladium, Pd, 46 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 10, 5, d Appearance silvery white metallic Standard atomic weight 106. ... 1803 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... General Name, Symbol, Number rhodium, Rh, 45 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 9, 5, d Appearance silvery white metallic Atomic mass 102. ... 1804 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

Anders Gustav Ekeberg (1776-1813) discovered tantalum in 1802, however, William Hyde Wollaston declared it was identical with Niobium. Latern Heinrich Rose (1795-1864) proved in 1846 that Niobium and Tantulum were indeed different elements.

He also performed important work in electricity. In 1801, he performed an experiment showing that the electricity from friction was identical to that produced by voltaic piles. During the last years of his life he performed electrical experiments that would pave the way to the eventual design of the electric motor. However, controversy erupted when Michael Faraday, who was undoubtedly the first to construct a working electrical motor, refused to grant Wollaston credit for his earlier work. Lightning strikes during a night-time thunderstorm. ... Friction is the force that opposes the relative motion or tendency toward such motion of two surfaces in contact. ... A copper-zinc Voltaic pile The Voltaic pile was the first modern electric battery, invented by Alessandro Volta in 1800. ... For other kinds of motors, see motor. ... Michael Faraday, FRS (September 22, 1791 – August 25, 1867) was an English chemist and physicist (or natural philosopher, in the terminology of that time) who contributed significantly to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. ...

His optical work was important as well, where he is remembered for his observations of dark Fraunhofer lines in the solar spectrum (1802) which eventually led to the discovery of the elements in the Sun. He also invented the camera lucida (1807), the reflecting goniometer (1809), and the Wollaston prism. Solar Fraunhofer lines In physics and optics, the Fraunhofer lines are a set of spectral lines named for the German physicist Joseph von Fraunhofer (1787--1826). ... Camera Lucida (in French, La Chambre Claire) is a short book published in 1980 by the French literary critic Roland Barthes. ... A goniometer is an instrument that either measures angles or allows an object to be rotated to a precise angular position. ... The Wollaston prism is an optical device, invented by William Hyde Wollaston, that manipulates polarized light. ...

He used his Bakerian lecture in 1805, On the Force of Percussion, to defend Gottfried Leibniz's principle of vis viva, an early formulation of the conservation of energy. He was too ill to deliver his final Bakerian in 1828 and dictated it to Henry Warburton who read it on November 20. The Bakerian Lecture is a prize lecture of the Royal Society, the Societys most prestigious lecture on physical sciences. ... 1805 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles. ... Vis Viva is the principle that the difference between the aggregate work of the accelerating forces of a system and that of the retarding forces is equal to one half the vis viva accumulated or lost in the system while the work is being done. ... Conservation of energy states that the total amount of energy in an isolated system remains constant, although it may change forms (for instance, friction turns kinetic energy into thermal energy). ... Henry Warburton (November 12, 1784 - September 16, 1858) was an English merchant and politician, and also an enthusiastic amateur scientist. ... November 20 is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

He also served on a royal commission that opposed adoption of the metric system (1819), and one that created the imperial gallon. In states that are Commonwealth Realms a Royal Commission is a major government public inquiry into an issue. ... The International System of Units (symbol: SI) (for the French phrase Syst me International dUnit s) is the most widely used system of units. ... 1819 common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Imperial Measure was a former system of measurement used in some Commonwealth nations, most notably the United Kingdom and Canada. ...

Honours

• Fellow of the Royal Society, 1793.
  • Secretary, 1804-1816.
  • President, briefly in 1820.
  • Royal Medal, 1828.
• The Wollaston Medal is named for him.
• Wollaston Lake in Saskatchewan, Canada is named after him.

The premises of The Royal Society in London (first four properties only). ... 1793 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1804 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1816 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The Royal Medals of the Royal Society of London were established by King George IV. They were further supported with certain changes to their conditions, by King William IV and Queen Victoria. ... The Wollaston Medal is a scientific award for geology, the highest award granted by the Geological Society of London. ... Wollaston Lake is located in northeastern Saskatchewan, Canada. ... Motto: Multis E Gentibus Vires (Latin: From many peoples strength) Capital Regina Largest city Saskatoon Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor Gordon Barnhart - Premier Lorne Calvert (NDP) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 14 - Senate seats 6 Confederation September 1, 1905 (Split from NWT) (9th (province)) Area Ranked 7th...

External links

• Palladium Discovery History Uses & Investments
• Rhodium and Palladium Events Surrounding Their Discoveries