Early applications of vacuum, from Aristotle to Langmuir

Highlights of the development of vacuum science and technology from ancient times to the early 20th century are reviewed. The view of the Greek philosophers that vacuum was an impossibility hampered understanding of the basic principles of vacuum until the mid‐17th century. Verifiable vacua were first produced in Italy by Berti and Torricelli; von Guericke’s dramatic experiments vividly demonstrated atmospheric pressure. Pistonlike ‘‘air pumps’’ were widely used in England and the European continent through the 18th and early 19th centuries to produce and characterize the properties of vacuum (lack of sound transmission, inability to support life, gas discharges, etc.). The Industrial Revolution was made possible through the genius of Newcomen, who designed huge atmospheric engines (based on condensation of steam to form a vacuum beneath a piston, which was then driven by the pressure of the atmosphere). A system of ‘‘atmospheric railways’’ propelled by vacuum pistons was built in England in the mid‐19th ...