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Home > Dictionary of Science Quotations > Scientist Names Index P > William Prout Quotes

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William Prout
(15 Jan 1785 - 9 Apr 1850)

English biochemist and physiologist.


Science Quotes by William Prout (3 quotes)

I had come to the conclusion, that the principal alimentary matters might be reduced to the three great classes, namely the saccharine, the oily and the albuminous.
— William Prout
'On the Ultimate Composition of Simple Alimentary Substances; with some Preliminary Remarks on the Analysis of Organised Bodies in General', Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (1827), 117, 357.
Science quotes on:  |  Albumen (2)  |  Conclusion (266)  |  Great (1610)  |  Matter (821)  |  Oil (67)  |  Principal (69)

If the views we have ventured to advance be correct, we may almost consider {greek words} of the ancients to be realised in hydrogen, an opinion, by the by, not altogether new. If we actually consider the specific gravities of bodies in their gaseous state to represent the number of volumes condensed into one; or in other words, the number of the absolute weight of a single volume of the first matter ({greek words}) which they contain, which is extremely probable, multiples in weight must always indicate multiples in volume, and vice versa; and the specific gravities, or absolute weights of all bodies in a gaseous state, must be multiples of the specific gravity or absolute weight of the first matter, ({Greek words}), because all bodies in the gaseous state which unite with one another unite with reference to their volume.
— William Prout
'Correction of a Mistake in the Essay on the Relation between the Specific Gravities of Bodies in their Gaseous State and the Weights of their Atoms', Annals of Philosophy (1816), 7, 113.
Science quotes on:  |  Absolute (153)  |  Advance (298)  |  Advancement (63)  |  Ancient (198)  |  Body (557)  |  Condensation (12)  |  Consider (428)  |  Consideration (143)  |  Correctness (12)  |  First (1302)  |  Gas (89)  |  Gravity (140)  |  Greek (109)  |  Hydrogen (80)  |  Indicate (62)  |  Matter (821)  |  Multiple (19)  |  Must (1525)  |  New (1273)  |  Number (710)  |  Opinion (291)  |  Other (2233)  |  Realization (44)  |  Represent (157)  |  Single (365)  |  Specific (98)  |  Specific Gravity (2)  |  State (505)  |  Unite (43)  |  Venture (19)  |  Vice (42)  |  View (496)  |  Volume (25)  |  Weight (140)  |  Word (650)

That a free, or at least an unsaturated acid usually exists in the stomachs of animals, and is in some manner connected with the important process of digestion, seems to have been the general opinion of physiologists till the time of SPALLANZANI. This illustrious philosopher concluded, from his numerous experiments, that the gastric fluids, when in a perfectly natural state, are neither acid nor alkaline. Even SPALLANZANI, however, admitted that the contents of the stomach are very generally acid; and this accords not only with my own observation, but with that, I believe, of almost every individual who has made any experiments on the subject. ... The object of the present communication is to show, that the acid in question is the muriatic [hydrochloric] acid, and that the salts usually met with in the stomach, are the alkaline muriates.
— William Prout
'On the Nature of the Acid and Saline Matters Usually Existing in the Stomachs of Animals', Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London (1824), 114, 45-6.
Science quotes on:  |  Acid (83)  |  Alkali (6)  |  Animal (651)  |  Communication (101)  |  Conclusion (266)  |  Connect (126)  |  Content (75)  |  Digestion (29)  |  Exist (458)  |  Experiment (736)  |  Fluid (54)  |  Free (239)  |  Gastric (3)  |  General (521)  |  Hydrochloric Acid (2)  |  Illustrious (10)  |  Individual (420)  |  Natural (810)  |  Numerous (70)  |  Object (438)  |  Observation (593)  |  Opinion (291)  |  Philosopher (269)  |  Physiologist (31)  |  Present (630)  |  Process (439)  |  Question (649)  |  Salt (48)  |  Show (353)  |  State (505)  |  Stomach (40)  |  Subject (543)  |  Time (1911)  |  Usually (176)


See also:
  • 15 Jan - short biography, births, deaths and events on date of Prout's birth.
  • From Protyle to Proton: William Prout and the Nature of Matter, 1785-1985, by W.H. Brock. - book suggestion.

Carl Sagan Thumbnail In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion. (1987) -- Carl Sagan
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