Description

The renowned English chemist and meteorologist John Dalton (1766-1844) published A New System of Chemical Philosophy in two volumes, between 1808 and 1827. Dalton's discovery of the importance of the relative weight and structure of particles of a compound for explaining chemical reactions transformed atomic theory and laid the basis for much of what is modern chemistry. Volume 1, published 1808-1810, introduces Dalton's atomic theory and includes the results he obtained for the weights and structures of twelve groups of compounds. Volume 2, 1827, contains sections examining the weights and structures of two-element compounds for five different compound groups along with various notes and tables. Dalton's work is a monument of nineteenth-century chemistry. It will continue to be read and enjoyed by anybody interested in the history and development of science.