Irish links of the multinational chemist Joseph Black (1728-1799)

Abstract

Joseph Black (1728-1799) is remembered for his discovery of carbon dioxide and his characterisation of latent heat and specific heat. He was a chemist by chance, a physicist by inclination, and a physician by necessity. His discovery of carbon dioxide was as important for biology as it was for chemistry, and his work on heat laid a sound foundation for the study of temperature regulation in man and animals.