Phosphoro di Bologna - UNT Digital Library · Uncle Tungsten.' Our spoor to the discovery of...
3
El Il1 Phosphoro di Bologna James L. Marshall Beta Eta '71 and Virginia R. Marshall Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas, Denton TX 76203-5070; [email protected]; Computer Technology, Denton ISD, Denton TX 76201 n Bologna, Italy during the first decade of the 1600s, a cobbler named Vincenzo Casciarolo discovered a stone in nearby hills which became phosphorescent when "calcined by art." 1 This material, which became known as the "glowing stone of Bologna" or "phosphoro di Bologna" was the subject of intensive study by many alchemists and chemists through the years. Many recipes were developed, most of which included secret ingredients, but a basic theme included such things as eggs or charcoal and a "firing to redness." Throughout chemical history, the study of various "phosphorus" materials has always been of keen interest and has led to the discovery of such materials as "Baldium's phosphorus" or "Hermetic phos- phorus" (calcium nitrate), 2 "Canton's phospho- rus" (calcium sulfide), 2 the element phosphorus, itself,' or the mineral fluorspar (calcium fluo- ride) from which the name "fluorescence" orginates.' Today we know "Bologna stone" is barite (barium sulfate). Actually, the active phosphorescent form is barium sulfide,' reduced from the original barium sulfate. Recent studies by Italian chemists have tried to duplicate the original recipe, and it appears that an admixed metal is necessary and probably was one of the secret ingredients.' This added metal probably served as a doping ingredient, which today forms the basis of certain lumi- nous paints, such as "Balmains Luminous Paint" described by Oliver Sacks in his recent Uncle Tungsten.' Our spoor to the discovery of "phosphoro di Bologna" originated from L6mery's account which located the main site of Bologna stone as "Mt. Paterno about one French league" (three statute miles) from Bologna, Italy (Note: in the literature there are variants of the spelling of "Paderno" and "Roncrio"). By various queries we were able to make connection with Gian Luigi Felice, curator of the Geological Museum of the University of Bologna, who graciously accompanied us to a modern site where the Bologna stone could be found. A short drive LEFT: Figure 1. The backbone of Italy is the Apennines, the foothills of which have generated "Bologna stone"outside Bologna. Italy has been described as a "mound of breccia"generated when the African plate smashed into Europe millions of years ago. BELOW: Figure 2. Details of Bologna (surrounded by an ancient wall) and its environs. The Museum Bombicci (geological museum) can be found at Piazza di Porta San Donato, 1 (N 44' 29.89, E 11'21.35). From the south exit of the wall, Piazzi di Porta San Mamolo (N 44' 29.18, E 11 20.37) one can drive southward up the hillside, taking the Via del Colli fork (intersecting with Via di Roncrio at 44 28.46, E 20.23) upwards to an eroded field (very muddy when wet) at 44*26.73, E 11' 18.81. Roncrio, another historic site of"Bologna stone," is located at N 44 27.20, E 11 20.00. from the medieval walls of Bologna (Figures 1 and 2) took us to the heavily eroded gray argillaceous (clay) hills (Figure 3) where pieces THE HEXAGON re ion Rome 200 km Em City of tazione Bologna .....-.. Surrounded Piazza di by Main orta Sa Thoroughfare Donato ... , 4m'"" 14 Piazza di Porta San (Muso I. l \Geologico 1.5 km Parco di Cavaioni 4 B .t Parco di Monte Paderno A q- 0/0 h10 24
Transcript of Phosphoro di Bologna - UNT Digital Library · Uncle Tungsten.' Our spoor to the discovery of...
El Il1Phosphoro di Bologna
James L. Marshall Beta Eta '71 andVirginia R. MarshallDepartment of Chemistry, University ofNorth Texas, Denton TX 76203-5070;[email protected];Computer Technology, Denton ISD,Denton TX 76201
n Bologna, Italy during the first decade of the1600s, a cobbler named Vincenzo Casciarolodiscovered a stone in nearby hills which
became phosphorescent when "calcined byart."1 This material, which became known asthe "glowing stone of Bologna" or "phosphorodi Bologna" was the subject of intensive studyby many alchemists and chemists through theyears. Many recipes were developed, most ofwhich included secret ingredients, but a basictheme included such things as eggs or charcoaland a "firing to redness." Throughout chemicalhistory, the study of various "phosphorus"materials has always been of keen interest andhas led to the discovery of such materials as"Baldium's phosphorus" or "Hermetic phos-phorus" (calcium nitrate),2 "Canton's phospho-rus" (calcium sulfide),2 the element phosphorus,itself,' or the mineral fluorspar (calcium fluo-ride) from which the name "fluorescence"orginates.' Today we know "Bologna stone" isbarite (barium sulfate). Actually, the activephosphorescent form is barium sulfide,'reduced from the original barium sulfate.Recent studies by Italian chemists have tried toduplicate the original recipe, and it appears thatan admixed metal is necessary and probablywas one of the secret ingredients.' This addedmetal probably served as a doping ingredient,which today forms the basis of certain lumi-nous paints, such as "Balmains LuminousPaint" described by Oliver Sacks in his recentUncle Tungsten.'
Our spoor to the discovery of "phosphoro diBologna" originated from L6mery's accountwhich located the main site of Bologna stone as"Mt. Paterno about one French league" (threestatute miles) from Bologna, Italy (Note: in theliterature there are variants of the spelling of"Paderno" and "Roncrio"). By various querieswe were able to make connection with GianLuigi Felice, curator of the Geological Museum
of the University of Bologna, who graciouslyaccompanied us to a modern site where theBologna stone could be found. A short drive
LEFT: Figure 1. The backbone of Italy isthe Apennines, the foothills of which havegenerated "Bologna stone"outsideBologna. Italy has been described as a"mound of breccia"generated when theAfrican plate smashed into Europemillions of years ago.
BELOW: Figure 2. Details of Bologna(surrounded by an ancient wall) andits environs. The Museum Bombicci(geological museum) can be found atPiazza di Porta San Donato, 1 (N 44'29.89, E 11'21.35). From the south exitof the wall, Piazzi di Porta San Mamolo(N 44' 29.18, E 11 20.37) one can drivesouthward up the hillside, taking theVia del Colli fork (intersecting with Via diRoncrio at 44 28.46, E 20.23) upwardsto an eroded field (very muddy whenwet) at 44*26.73, E 11' 18.81. Roncrio,another historic site of"Bologna stone,"is located at N 44 27.20, E 11 20.00.
from the medieval walls of Bologna (Figures 1and 2) took us to the heavily eroded grayargillaceous (clay) hills (Figure 3) where pieces
THE HEXAGON
re ion
Rome
200 kmEm
City of tazioneBologna .....-..
Surrounded Piazza diby Main orta Sa
Thoroughfare Donato
... , 4m'"" 14Piazza diPorta San (MusoI. l \Geologico
1.5 km
Parco diCavaioni 4 B .t
Parco diMonte
PadernoA q- 0/0
h10
24
of Bologna stone could be found (Figure 4).These pieces were originally part of a large con -
cretion, a "boule tuberculeuse fribreuse etradie" (swelling nodule of radiating threads)'(Figure 5) formed by a selective crystallizationof alkaline earth sulfates in the clay hillsides."Hence, as one dug through the muddy slopes
of Mt. Pademo, the discovered shards of theoriginal concretion would vary from light toheavy, (calcium or barium sulfates, respectively)(Figure 5). The best samples of complete nod-ules of Bologna stone are on exhibit at theBombicci Museum at the University of Bologna(Figure 6).
In original accounts,' the "Bologna stone"could be observed in three sites: "MontePademo, Roncaria, and Pradalbino."Gian LuigiFelice and other geologists of BolognaUniversity were well aware of the first two sites(Monte Paderno and Roncrio, see Figure 2) buthad never heard of the third site, the exact loca-tion of which shall probably never be known.However, other locations where the barite con-cretions can be found are notably at Monte SanGiovanni (N 44 24.67, E 11 09.94, approxi-mately 12 km WSW of Monte Pademo). Taking
the train from Bologna to Rome, in the stretch afew kilometers south of Bologna, one can spotseveral locations of the typical clay badlands(Figure 3).
To continue the story from phosphoro diBologna to modern times, we must travel toSweden, France, and Great Britain. In the mid-dle 1700s Gottlieb Gahn and Carl WilhelmScheele of Sweden recognized "Bologna'sstone"as identical to"heavy spar"from Sweden
44, ,
and recognized"barium"as a separate earth. In1789 France's Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier recog-nized barium as one of the elements ("baryte,"or "terre pesante" = "ponderous earth").'" In1808 Sir Humphry Davy through his voltaic pileisolated metallic barium. However, each ofthese stories must wait for a future time. Q
AcknowledgmentsWe wish to thank Gian Luigi Felice, Dip.
Scienze delle Terra e Geologico, MuseumBombicci, Piazza di Porta San Donato, 1,Bologna, Italy, who directed us to the Bolognastone sites and furnished historic and geologi-cal information.
SUMMER 2002
LEFT: Figure 3. View ofclay badlands where"Bologna stone" is found,looking northeast withBologna in the distance.This portion of theApennines dates fromthe Miocene, about15 million years ago.The "Bologna stone"crystallized out from thegray-colored clay.
BELOW: Figure 4.Discovery! Fragmentsof "Bologna stone"arefound in the hillside ofMonte Paderno by oneof the authors.
25
Ax
Figure 6. The Bombicci Museum (geo-
logical museum) in the University ofBologna which is famous for theBologna stone, amber, and other speci-mens. The University of Bologna has along history dating back to the MiddleAges. Already by the 12th century theUniversity was famous throughoutEurope and attracted students in law,medicine, and other disciplines.Agricola studied medicine here in 1524
before his famous mineralogicalresearches in the Saxony-Bohemiaregion.
Literature Cited1. J. R. Partington, A History of Chemistry,
1961, Vol. 2, pp 338, Macmillan & Co., Ltd,London, 334-340.
2. M. Weeks, Discovery of the Elements,Journal of Chemical Education, 7th ed.,1968, 484-488.
3. Reference 1, p 370.
Dana's New Mineralogy, 8th Ed., JohnWiley & Sons, N.Y. 1997, 380-383.
5. Oliver Sacks, Uncle Tungsten: Memories ofa Chemical Boyhood, Alfred K. Knopf,NewYork, 2001, 226-227.
., 'a
-~ ~, ..
Kd A
6. A. Bernardi,"Fosforo di Bologna'o Lapis
Solaris' o Spugna di luce'e i solfurifosforescenti, Annali di ChimicaFarmaceutica, XVII, Aprile 1939, 1-24.)
7. N. L6mery,"A Course of Chymistry,"2ndEnglish edition from the French 5th, WalterKettilby, London, p 525-526, 1686.
8. A. Dufrenoy, Traiti de Miniralogie, 2nd ed.,Victor Dalmont, Paris, 1856, 259.
9. C. L. Bombicci, Corso di Mineralogia, 2nded., Tipografia Fava e Garagnavi, Bologna,1875, 334-337.
10. A. L. Lavoisier, Traiti flimentaire de Chimie,Paris. 1789.
Figure 5. Specimens of various forms of barite, BaSO 4. Upper-left: a "tubercule of radiating fibers," the "Bolognastone,"exhibited in the Museo Bombicci, University of Bologna. During the crystallization process, the differen-tiation has created a core of calcium sulfate and an outer layer of barium sulfate. Lower-right: pieces of"Bologna stone"found by the authors at Monte Padern; sometimes the shards were light (calcium sulfate) andother times heavy (barium sulfate). Upper-right: most common form of barite, in the form of plates, collected bythe authors in Colorado. Lower-right: famous barite roses of Oklahoma, collected by the authors.
26
Amy Y. ALBL, Gamma Beta '95, writes "Iam a 28 year old breast cancer survivor. Iwould like to write my story to create aware-ness among young women. Please e-mail orcall if you are interested. [email protected] (860) 691-1415."
Luciana ARONNE, Beta Pi '89, and herhusband Brian Ross are happy to announcethe birth of their first child, Angelica AronneRoss, born on January 9, 2002. All are doingwell.
George BALASKO, Gamma '83, joinedResearch Organics, Inc., as MaintenanceManager in June 2001. My duties includeengineering projects, managing a staff of 8mechanics, and facility security.
James BIDLACK, Beta Nu '80, marriedAmy Sherrill Bidlack on June 29, 2001. DrBidlack and his wife had a great honeymoonin Arkansas and recently had a baby daughter,Hanna Linsley Bidlack on March 29, 2002. Dr.Bidlack has been promoted to full professor atthe University of Central Oklahoma in theBiology Department. He is also a recent co-author of Introductory Plant Biology, 9th ed.,by Kingsley Stem, Shelly Jansky, and JamesBidlack.
Herbert C. BROWN, Beta Nu '60, celebrat-ed his 90th birthday on May 22, 2002, with aspecial"Herbert C. Brown Lectures in OrganicChemistry" with visits and lectures by formercoworkers and students on May 23-35, 2002.
Lawrence C. CERNY, Gamma '51, is look-ing for partners in his Blood Research andDecontaminants work at [email protected].
Julie Ann CONNER, Alpha Sigma '93, andFarid Gary Jafar were married April 27, 2002.
Ted ERIKSON, Alpha Psi '51, is still swim-ming the waters with Umbra, the only dog toswim from Asia to Europe as covered byNational Geographic. See their webpage atwww.SdogVcom.
Robert FELTS, Alpha Upsilon '40, wouldlike to hear from brothers who lived in thehouse at 341 Evergreen in East Lansing in the1941-42 era. [email protected].
John Mike FERGUSON, Kappa '86, hascompleted his seventh year at the Universityof Central Oklahoma (Edmond). He was pro-moted to Associate Professor in the fall of2000 and granted tenure in the fall of 2001. Herecently completed work on two AmericanChemical Society committees: one to writethe latest version of the ACS organic chem-istry test and one to write a study guide forstudents preparing for the exam.
Janet L. FORD, Gamma Iota '92, started PAschool at Arcadia University in Philadelphia inMay 2002.
Thomas A. GOVER, Alpha Gamma '54,retired to teaching a fall term general chem-istry section after 33 years full-time atGustavus Adolphus College.
THE HEXAGON
4.
