Doświadczenia fizyczne Nayiaśnieyszemu PANU… okazywane roku 1793. W Grodnie przez JXX Dominikanów Konwentu tamecznego. Analiza tekstu

Abstract

From June to November 1793 Grodno (now Belarus) was the place of the last session of Parliament of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, with the participation of king Stanisław August Poniatowski, and it was where the second partition of Poland was approved. In the days free of parliamentary debates, Grodno’s Dominicans prepared a series of physics experiments for the king. The course of the experiments and their subject matter is known from a press release (Pismo Peryodyczne Korrespondenta 2, January 9, 1794, pp. 35–42). It is a type of daily report informing about 18 meetings, each time indicating their subject matter. This report was sufficient to recreate the course and the type of the experiments. Three thematic groups presented by the Dominicans can be distinguished. The first is a presentation of the physics cabinet – the king was visited, among others, the Nooth’s apparatus to produce “carbonated water”, a geological collection and other items used in the later shows. The second series of demonstrations was devoted to issues related to electricity. The idea and nature of lightning was also demonstrated. The third series of presentations concerned the properties of gases. In addition to other demonstrations, the Dominicans prepared an experiment which presented the process of producing water from oxygen and hydrogen. The experiment lasted all day, during which the reagents were measured: the volume of gases that were used and the mass of the water obtained. The report brings a lot of important information, indicating the level of scientific knowledge and the experimental skills of the Dominicans. It is evidence of how modern physics was taught by the Dominicans with the use of appropriate instruments for this purpose. It is also a source of knowledge about school equipment in Poland. Additionally, the report is so far one of the few well-documented public demonstrations prepared for the king. It also confirms the view that the king Stanislaus August was a broad-minded intellectual interested in science.