Vasily Vladimirovich Petrov
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Vasily Vladimirovich Petrov (Russian: Василий Владимирович Петров) (19 July [O.S. 8 July] 1761—1834) was a Russian experimental physicist, self-taught electrical technician, academician of Russian Academy of Sciences (since 1809; Corresponding member since 1802).
Vasily Petrov was born in the town of Oboyan (currently Kursk Oblast of Russia) to a family of a priest. He studied at a public school in Kharkov, and then at the St. Petersburg Teacher's College.
In 1788 he got a position of a math and physics teacher at Kolyvansko-Voskresenskoe College of Mining in the town of Barnaul. He was transferred to Saint Petersburg in 1791 as a teacher of math and Russian at the military Engineering College under Izmailovksky regiment. In 1793 Vasily V. Petrov was invited to teach math and physics at the St. Petersburg Medical and Surgery School at the military hospital. In 1795 he was promoted to the rank of an Extraordinary Professor. During the next few years he was able to create a comprehensive physics laboratory.
His first published book named "A collection of new physical-chemical experiments and observations" (Russian: Собрание физико-химических новых опытов и наблюдений) was published in 1801. The bulk of this work was dedicated to the description of experiments related to combustion - the purpose of which was to prove that the phlogiston theory was unwarranted.
The chapters, describing luminosity of Phosphors of mineral and organic origins have elicited vivid interest in scientific circles. Vasily Petrov was able to detect the maximum temperature when phosphorus cease to glow in open (atmospheric) air, by his numerous experiments with fluorite he was able to prove it glows due to a different reason than phosphorus.
Vasily Petrov was the scientist who discovered an electric arc effect in 1802.
[edit] References
- Menschutkin, B. N. (1936). Vasilij Vladimirovic Petrov and His Physico-Chemical Work. Isis, vol. 25 (2), pp. 391-398.
- Vernadsky, G. (1969). Rise of Science in Russia 1700-1917. Russian Review, vol. 28 (1), pp. 37-52.
