Antoine Baumé facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Antoine Baumé
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Antoine Baumé
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| Born | 26 February 1728 Senlis France
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| Died | 15 October 1804 (aged 76) Paris France
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| Nationality | French |
| Known for | Baumé scale |
Antoine Baumé (born February 26, 1728 – died October 15, 1804) was a famous French chemist. He is best known for inventing the Baumé scale, which helps scientists measure how dense liquids are.
Antoine Baumé's Early Life
Antoine Baumé was born in a town called Senlis, France. When he was young, he became an apprentice to a chemist named Claude Joseph Geoffroy. An apprentice is someone who learns a skill or trade from a master.
In 1752, Antoine joined the École de Pharmacie in Paris. This was a special school for pharmacy, which is about preparing medicines. He quickly became a professor of chemistry there in the same year.
What He Did
Antoine Baumé was very good at chemistry. He started a business in Paris selling chemical products. This business made him enough money to stop working in 1780. He wanted to spend all his time on applied chemistry. Applied chemistry means using chemistry to solve real-world problems.
However, during the French Revolution, he lost all his money. The French Revolution was a big, important change in France's government. Because he lost his money, he had to go back to working in business.
Antoine Baumé created many new ways to do things. For example, he found better methods for:
- Bleaching silk (making it white)
- Dyeing fabrics (giving them color)
- Gilding (covering things with a thin layer of gold)
- Making saltpetre purer (saltpetre is used in gunpowder and fertilizers)
His most famous invention is the Baumé scale. This scale is used with a tool called a hydrometer. A hydrometer is like a special floating device that measures the density of liquids. Density tells you how much "stuff" is packed into a certain space. The Baumé scale helps scientists and industries measure how thick or thin liquids are. Even today, people still use this scale, though sometimes its name is spelled differently.
His Books and Achievements
Antoine Baumé wrote many books and papers about chemistry. His most important book was called Éléments de pharmacie théorique et pratique. This book was so popular that it was printed nine times between 1762 and 1818!
He also wrote:
- Manuel de chymie ou exposé des opérations de la chymie et de leurs produits, 1763
- Erläuterte Experimental-Chimie . Band 2, 1775
In 1772, he became a member of the Académie des Sciences, which is a very important group of scientists in France. Later, in 1796, he joined the Institut de France. Antoine Baumé passed away in Paris on October 15, 1804.
Images for kids
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Chymie expérimentale et raisonnée, volume 1, 1773
See also
In Spanish: Antoine Baumé para niños
