CAILLETET, L. - RAOUL PICTET - THE LIQUEFACTION OF OXYGEN A BREAKTHROUGH IN LOW-TEMPERATURE CHEMISTRY.

De la Condensation de l'oxygè et de l'oxyde de carbone. (Cailletet) + Expériences sur la liquéfaction de l'oxygéne. (2 papers).

Paris, Gauthier-Villars, 1877. 4to. No wrappers. In: "Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de L'Academie des Sciences", Tome 85, No 26 (entire issue offered). With htitle and titlepage to vol. 85. Titlepage with a stamp on verso, seen on front. Pp. 1185-1248. Cailletet's paper: pp. 1213-1214. Pictet's paper: pp. 1214-1217. With an illustration of the apparatus in the text.

First printing of these two milestone papers in Low-temperature Chemistry. This process of liquefaction of oxygene was achieved independently, in the same year, by Cailletet and Pictet, using different methods. Cailletet used the Joule-Thomson effect; oxygen was cooled while highly compressed, then allowed to rapidly expand, cooling it further, resulting in the production of small droplets of liquid oxygen. Pictet's method was more elaborate, using compounds pumps. (This compound is shown on the illustration in the text).

Parkinson "Breakthroughs", 1877 C. - Magee "Source Books in Physics" p. 192-93 (Cailletet) and pp. 194-96 (Pictet).

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