Georgius AGRICOLA (Agricola)

(24.3.1494 - 21.11.1555))
Georgius Agricola (Georg Bauer), after studying in Leipzig and the University of Bologna was the town doctor in g. Chemnitz (Saxony), and then Mr.. Yoahimstale (Czech Republic). In this major center of mining and metallurgical industry, he really became interested in minerals and leaving medicine, he began studying mining and metallurgy.
His first work devoted to mining and production, called "Bermanus, or dialogue about the industry". Thirty-six-researcher is very useful knowledge in chemistry, he received the university.
. Returning after several years in Chemnitz, Agricola first time once again served as the town doctor, and then devote themselves entirely to issues of origin and processing of mining ores
. One after another came in light of his writings: "On the origin and causes of the, . that is under the ground ", . "On the nature of the, . what emerges from the Earth ", . "The nature of fossil", . "The old and new metals", . and, . Finally - the main work of his life "Twelve books on metals",
. German naturalist summarized in this work of centuries-old experience of extracting metals from ore, gave a complete and systematic description of the full range of mining and metallurgical production operations.
Work Agricola differed rich content, accuracy and clarity of presentation. It included 275 prints. These illustrations, . particularly, . depicted device for washing the river sands, . applied gold-medieval Europe, . technological scheme of smelting copper and iron with wood in special pits, . different mechanisms of descent of miners in the mine, . scheme ore veins in the mountains of Saxony,
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Agricola has developed a framework of chemical analysis and processing of copper, silver and lead ores. He first described the receipt of bismuth.
German scientist was not only a metallurgist: one of the books he devoted to obtaining salts (nitrate, alum, vitriol, salt), and the glass.
Exploring the various chemical compounds, he first noticed that the staining of the flame may serve as a characteristic of burnt material.
Agricola was also interested in issues relating to the Earth's crust. He developed methods for the determination of various ores and described two dozen new minerals. Agricola Books for more than two centuries been the main guide to technology of mining, metallurgy and assay the case "- chemical analysis of ores and materials.