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Joseph Priestley is perhaps the first great experimental chemist. His careful experiments uncovered the essential gases oxygen and carbon dioxide.
These are intimately involved in the processes of life: oxygen being the feedstock for animals (including humans), and carbon dioxide being the feedstock of plants. After visiting Priestley’s lab, Benjamin Franklin recognized the interplay of systems, foreshadowing the development of ecology.
The episode concludes with the universal notion that an initial idea can have implications and impacts far beyond what the scientist understands at the time — a theme that appears repeatedly throughout the podcast.
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