Cagniard-Latour

In 1837, the chemical explanation of fermentation was dealt a shattering blow by Charles Cagniard-Latour (1777-1859), Theodor Schwann (1810-1882) and Friedrich Kutzing (1807-1893) who had independent of each other rediscovered Leeuwenhoek s old observation of the yeast cell. This remarkable coincidence was due to improvements in microscope construction represented by the achromatic compound microscope, which had recently become available and gave much better... 

Cagniard-Latour, Charles. Memoire sur la Fermentation Vineuse. Ann. Chim. 2e Ser. 68, 206-223 (1838). 

A. van Leeuwenhoek examined yeast with a microscope and found it to consist of globules , but his observation was forgotten. Thenard (1803, see above) had suspected that different types of fermentation are caused by specific micro-organisms. Cagniard Latour found that ... 

The results of Cagniard Latour and Schwann were confirmed by P. J. F. Turpin. F. Kiitzing, whose unpublished work on yeast confirmed the conclusions of Cagniard Latour, accepted these, as did Strecker. ... 

Schwann, T. 1837. Vorlaufige Mittheilung, betreffend Versuche iiber die Weingahrung und Faulnis. Annalen der Physik und Chemie 41 184-193 Cagniard-Latour, C. 1838. Mem-oire sur la fermenation vineuse. Annales de Chimie et de Physique 68 206-222. 

Yeast.—It was known that when the juice of grapes or other sweet fruits was allowed to ferment it took on a sharp taste and affected the body in a stimulating manner. In 1836 Cagniard de Latour and von Schwann showed that alcohol was produced by the action of a living... 

The interest in SFRs has seen a tremendous increase over the last few years, because the special properties of SCFs make them particularly attractive solvents for modem synthetic chemistry. We should be aware of the fact, however, that the idea of using SCFs as reaction media has been emerging ever since the discovery of this peculiar state of matter early in the nineteenth century by Baron Charles Cagniard de LaTour, an experimental physicist in France [67]. 

Figure 1.1-6 The digester made by Denys Papin in 1680 [72], The first vessel of Cagniard de LaTour was based on this design (Oxford University Press).

Figure 1.1-7 No portraits of Baron Cagniard de LaTour were found by the authors, but we do know, from this registration form, that he had chestnut hair, grey eyes, a small mouth, long chin and was 1.73 m tall (photo courtesy of Ecole Polytechnique).

Figure 1.1-8 The glass tube design used by Cagniard de LaTour to observe the transition from a liquid past the critical point to a supercritical fluid. The internal diameter was 1 mm over most of the length, but the section def had a diameter of 4 mm. Mercury was introduced into section bcde and ether was put into ef. The ends a and / were then sealed and the tube heated over a fire. At the moment when the ether was transformed into a vapor, the level b of the mercury had climbed to point g. The pressure was calculated from the distances to be 37-38 bar [67].

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