Charles Sylvester
Encyclopedia
Charles Sylvester was a chemist and inventor born in Sheffield
, United Kingdom
. He worked on galvanization
, public building heating and sanitation, and railroad friction amongst other things.
. He married Sarah Dixon in 1798, three months before the birth of their son John. Sarah had two more boys and three girls, but John was the only boy to survive to adulthood. Sylvester experimented with coating iron and steel with zinc. The method patented by Sylvester and two others involved building a battery (galvanic cell
) from the items that one wanted to plate with zinc, and then leaving the construction in seawater.
In 1807 Sylvester moved to Derby where he worked with William Strutt
who was building Derby's Royal Infirmary. Sylvester was instrumental in documenting a novel heating system for the new hospital. He published his ideas in The Philosophy of Domestic Economy; as exemplified in the mode of Warming, Ventilating, Washing, Drying, & Cooking, . . . in the Derbyshire General Infirmary in 1819. However the book is dedicated to Strutt, and Sylvester is careful to assign many of the inventions to Strutt, and to note that the heating designs installed in the new Infirmary had already been tried on Strutt and his friends' houses. Sylvester documented the new ways of heating hospitals that were included in the design, and the healthier features such as self-cleaning and air-refreshing toilets. The toilets had a carefully designed door that would exchange the air for fresh as each user exited. The same door action also washed the basin.
Sylvester described the infirmary's features including its fireproof construction, laundry and novel heating that allowed the patients to breathe fresh heated air whilst old air was channelled up to a glass and iron dome at the centre. Sylvester described the advances that Strutt had made and this was successful in three ways. Sylvester was able to take the new ideas for heating and apply them in numerous other building projects. The Derby Infirmary was seen as a leader in European architecture and architects and visiting royalty were brought to see its features. Finally Strutt was proposed to become a member of the Royal Society
by five distinguished proposers which included Marc Isambard Brunel
and James Watt
.
Sylvester with Strutt was a member of Erasmus Darwin
's Derby Philosophical Society
.
Sylvester was commissioned by the Chairman of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
to advise them on the subject of the railroad and he wrote a Report on rail-roads and locomotive engines. Sylvester included a comparison between canals and railways. He observed that greater power will deliver more speed on a railroad, but on the canal the power required to increase speed varies by the square of the velocity.
Sylvester's bust was modelled by Chantry and one copy of it is in Derby Museum and Art Gallery
.
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. He worked on galvanization
Galvanization
Galvanization is the process of applying a protective zinc coating to steel or iron, in order to prevent rusting. The term is derived from the name of Italian scientist Luigi Galvani....
, public building heating and sanitation, and railroad friction amongst other things.
Biography
Sylvester was born in 1774 in Sheffield, which was then in DerbyshireDerbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
. He married Sarah Dixon in 1798, three months before the birth of their son John. Sarah had two more boys and three girls, but John was the only boy to survive to adulthood. Sylvester experimented with coating iron and steel with zinc. The method patented by Sylvester and two others involved building a battery (galvanic cell
Galvanic cell
A Galvanic cell, or Voltaic cell, named after Luigi Galvani, or Alessandro Volta respectively, is an electrochemical cell that derives electrical energy from spontaneous redox reaction taking place within the cell...
) from the items that one wanted to plate with zinc, and then leaving the construction in seawater.
In 1807 Sylvester moved to Derby where he worked with William Strutt
William Strutt (inventor)
William Strutt FRS, was a cotton spinner in Belper, England.-Biography:Strutt was the first son of Jedediah Strutt and, after a good education, joined his father's business at the age of fourteen...
who was building Derby's Royal Infirmary. Sylvester was instrumental in documenting a novel heating system for the new hospital. He published his ideas in The Philosophy of Domestic Economy; as exemplified in the mode of Warming, Ventilating, Washing, Drying, & Cooking, . . . in the Derbyshire General Infirmary in 1819. However the book is dedicated to Strutt, and Sylvester is careful to assign many of the inventions to Strutt, and to note that the heating designs installed in the new Infirmary had already been tried on Strutt and his friends' houses. Sylvester documented the new ways of heating hospitals that were included in the design, and the healthier features such as self-cleaning and air-refreshing toilets. The toilets had a carefully designed door that would exchange the air for fresh as each user exited. The same door action also washed the basin.
Sylvester described the infirmary's features including its fireproof construction, laundry and novel heating that allowed the patients to breathe fresh heated air whilst old air was channelled up to a glass and iron dome at the centre. Sylvester described the advances that Strutt had made and this was successful in three ways. Sylvester was able to take the new ideas for heating and apply them in numerous other building projects. The Derby Infirmary was seen as a leader in European architecture and architects and visiting royalty were brought to see its features. Finally Strutt was proposed to become a member of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
by five distinguished proposers which included Marc Isambard Brunel
Marc Isambard Brunel
Sir Marc Isambard Brunel, FRS FRSE was a French-born engineer who settled in England. He preferred the name Isambard, but is generally known to history as Marc to avoid confusion with his more famous son Isambard Kingdom Brunel...
and James Watt
James Watt
James Watt, FRS, FRSE was a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer whose improvements to the Newcomen steam engine were fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both his native Great Britain and the rest of the world.While working as an instrument maker at the...
.
Sylvester with Strutt was a member of Erasmus Darwin
Erasmus Darwin
Erasmus Darwin was an English physician who turned down George III's invitation to be a physician to the King. One of the key thinkers of the Midlands Enlightenment, he was also a natural philosopher, physiologist, slave trade abolitionist,inventor and poet...
's Derby Philosophical Society
Derby Philosophical Society
The Derby Philosophical Society was a club for gentleman in Derby founded in 1783 by Erasmus Darwin. The club had many notable members and also offered the first institutional library in Derby that was available to some section of the public.-History:...
.
Sylvester was commissioned by the Chairman of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
Liverpool and Manchester Railway
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the world's first inter-city passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance solely by steam locomotives. The line opened on 15 September 1830 and ran between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in North...
to advise them on the subject of the railroad and he wrote a Report on rail-roads and locomotive engines. Sylvester included a comparison between canals and railways. He observed that greater power will deliver more speed on a railroad, but on the canal the power required to increase speed varies by the square of the velocity.
Sylvester's bust was modelled by Chantry and one copy of it is in Derby Museum and Art Gallery
Derby Museum and Art Gallery
Derby Museum and Art Gallery was established in 1879, along with Derby Central Library, in a new building designed by Richard Knill Freeman and given to Derby by Michael Thomas Bass. The collection includes a whole gallery displaying the paintings of Joseph Wright of Derby; there is also a large...
.