Education, History

What was invented before: a candle or a glass? History of inventions

In order to answer the question that we invented before - a candle or a glass, first consider the history of the creation of a candle, and then the glass. And compare. So, let's start immersing ourselves in the history of making candles.

Dipped candles

People use candles as a source of lighting for about 5000 years. Despite the importance they occupy in our lives, one can not answer the question exactly when they invented the candles. There are theories that the first candles were invented in ancient Egypt about 3000 years before our era. Of course, they looked completely different and different from modern ones. Egyptian candles were made from the core of the cedar, a reed served as a torch, which was previously soaked in animal fat. The official mention of these sources of light dates back to the 10th century BC. Then they looked like a wick placed in a container filled with a fuel solution. The history of the candle from the ancient Romans was very interesting. They twisted, and then dipped in a solution of fat papyrus. Due to the fact that part of the solution remained on the wick, it burned for a long time. Such candles were called poppy, with their help were illuminated at home, as well as religious premises, they were taken on the road. The candles were widely spread due to cheapness and accessibility of fat, therefore they were used for many centuries.

Historians argue that other civilizations made candles from improvised means, including insects or plants. In China, candles were made from a thick paper rolled up in a tube, rice was a rice paper, wax was mixed with insects. The Japanese made candle wax from walnut trees.

Taper candles

How did the modern candle? The history of its creation dates back to the 15th century. Until that time, all the candles were dipped. One inventor, who was from France, invented tapered candles, for this purpose the wax was poured into the finished casting mold. Then the animal fat was replaced with beeswax, it burned less, burned longer and smelled better. However, the cost of such candles was much higher, because they were used only in the church and in the houses of the aristocracy.

Other methods of creating candles

American women made a small, but important discovery: the wax obtained with prolonged boiling of some berries burns well and smells very pleasant. However, since this method of making candles is laborious and time-consuming, it has not been widely used.

In the XVIII century, the whaling industry was developed, thanks to which a new substratum was added to the suppositories - spermaceti. This oil substance was obtained from the top of the head of the sperm whale. New candles were denser and more rigid, which allowed them not to melt in the heat.

The history of inventions that have influenced candlestick

The XIX century was a turning point for the production of candles. In 1820, a chemist from France, Michel Chevrol, isolated stearic acid from animal fat. Then came the stearin candles, which became hard, stiff and cleanly burned. Such candles are popular to this day in Europe.

Important in their history is the name of Joseph Morgan. He invented an apparatus through which molded candles could be produced continuously. Thanks to a cylinder with a moving piston, this technique independently extracted candles from the car after they froze.

In 1850, they were able to extract a substance of natural origin from oil and purify it. Thus, paraffin was used in the production of candles. This product burned cleanly and smoothly, was cheaper than other combustible substances, the problem of a low melting point was solved after more solid stearic acids were added to the paraffin.

In 1879, Thomas Edison invented an incandescent lamp, after which the candles began to be used rather for aesthetic purposes.

Modern candles

Candles have remained in our lives to this day as an element of decor, as an integral part of creating a romantic or meditative atmosphere, even just as a pleasant and cute souvenir. Candles are aromatic, multicolored, small and large, round and square in shape - all this is available today for any person.

Since 1990, the popularity of candles has been growing again, began to look for new varieties of wax for candles: from palm oil, soy,

Glass

What a glass is, many know, it's easy. Glass is an amorphous substance. A solid body can be obtained from it by cooling the alloy. A lot of the things around us are made of glass, without it our life would not be so comfortable. How did people do before without mirrors, glazed windows, beautiful glass bottles, elegant and light dishes? Have you ever thought about when you invented glass? In this article, we will try to answer not only this question, we will also try to compare and analyze what was invented before - a candle or a glass.

History of Glass

An interesting hypothesis was proposed by the ancient Greek philosopher and historian Pliny the Elder. He wrote a work called "Natural History" in the first century BC. The history of the creation of glass is described as a legend or a legend of ancient navigators.

Phoenician merchants carried from Africa on ships natural soda along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. During the trip they were overtaken by a strong storm, as a result the vessel was hid in the nearest harbor. It was decided to wait for the best weather on the shore. The travelers built a fire, decided to cook food. They were looking for what to put a large cauldron on, but it was empty on the shore and nothing was found suitable. Then the sailors brought from the ship massive blocks of soda, which were ideal for this purpose. In the morning the sailors found bits of unfamiliar material on the site of the fire. Thus, glass was formed from a mixture of soda and sand under the influence of high temperature. The history of inventions is very often unusual and simple. The narrator is, of course, a very respected person, the version is interesting, but is it true?

In the twentieth century decided to check the version of Pliny. Unfortunately, the experiment failed. It turned out that the temperature of the fire was not enough to melt the glass. So when did they invent glass? Obviously, it was created in other conditions by other people.

Glass of Ancient Egypt

The question that invented before, a candle or glass, remains open, but scientists believe that both of these discoveries belong to the ancient Egyptians. The fact is that in the tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs were found the first glassware, whose age is estimated to be about 9000 years. It is believed that the glass was invented accidentally, when a mixture of sand and soda fell on the raw clay product before baking. Perhaps the product was simple and did not require special attention, and, moreover, clean raw clay is not easy. After firing, a thin glass layer formed on it, and with due attention the master could notice it. He could only draw the right conclusion. 5000 years ago in Egypt, jewelry was already made from glass, colored dishes, and 3,000 years ago glass bottles for the storage of perfume already appeared. The first glass created by man was greenish or bluish because the sand had impurities.

Venetian glass

If to be frank, it's not a man who invented glass, it was created by nature itself, when it came from a red-hot lava millions of years ago. Thus, we can answer the question that we invented before - a glass or a candle. Since the glass appeared on its own, millions of years ago, it entered the life of man much earlier than candles. The first glass found by man was not transparent, but unclear, almost black. It is called obsidian. Then, of course, a person learned to make glass himself.

In the I century BC people have already begun to discolor glass with the help of manganese. To make glassware, special tubes were used, with which it was blown. A flat form was received much later. The first transparent flat glass was discovered in Pompeii during archaeological excavations. In the XIII century, they were already known in Europe. Since that time in Venice, glass production has become widespread. From Constantinople, new eastern samples were brought. Gradually in Venice they learned how to make such glass and even improved its transparency by adding lead to the alloy.

All the master glassmakers were very appreciated, they were not even let out of the city, and for the attempt to escape they were threatened with death. Then, in order to avoid revealing the secrets of production, it was decided to move all workshops to the island of Murano, which is near Venice. Glassware from Murano was very much appreciated at the time. Now this dish can be seen in all kinds of museums. Glassblowers made indescribable beauty vases, glasses, decanters and exquisite jewelry. In those days, glass things were a luxury item.

The Benefits of Glass

Then mankind came up with an amalgam coating. So there was a mirror. Glass was even used in construction, very often with its application temples were built. Many-colored stained-glass windows adorn many of them now. Due to the ability of a glass of a certain shape to refract the rays of light, the manufacture of lenses began, which became useful in science. Biology, medicine, astronomy - they all needed glass and lenses.