Robert Boyle was born in Lismore,

Ireland. He was regarded as one of the

foremost  experimental scientists of his

time. It is thought that he was the first to collect gases by displacing water in an

inverted flask. He discovered the

relationship between the pressure and the volume of a gas in 1660. The relationship, pxV = constant, is known as Boyle´s law and was one of the first attempts to

express a scientific principle in a

mathematical form. Boyle separated

chemistry from the realm of alchemy and estabilished it as a science. On the basis of experiment he defined an element as

something that cannot be broken up into smaller substances. Robert Boyle devoted his life to experimental science, taking

careful notes of each experiment, enabling other scientists to learn from his work. He is regarded as the father of experimental science.

1627--1691

Robert