chemistry

Petrus Jacobus Kipp

Petrus Jacobus Kipp is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Petrus Jacobus Kipp rather than just read about it. In short: Petrus Jacobus Kipp (Utrecht, 5 March 1808 – Delft, 3 February 1864) was a Dutch apothecary, chemist and instrument maker. He became known as the inventor of the Kipp apparatus, chemistry equipment for the development of gases.

Key takeaways

Petrus Jacobus Kipp belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Petrus Jacobus Kipp to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Petrus Jacobus Kipp from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Petrus Jacobus Kipp (Utrecht, 5 March 1808 – Delft, 3 February 1864) was a Dutch apothecary, chemist and instrument maker. He became known as the inventor of the Kipp apparatus, chemistry equipment for the development of gases.

Biography Kipp passed his pharmacist exam in 1829 in Utrecht University with a thesis on seven substances. When he found that, contrary to the academic medicine education with national value, his exam had mere local value, to start a pharmacy in faraway Delft, he had to pass a further test at the provincial medical council. At the beginning of the 19th century, in Delft as in other cities, there was a surplus of pharmacists. Many decided to combine their work with other activities. So too Kipp started in 1830 in Delft a trade in scientific instruments and chemicals. At first his chemicals business made most profit, but after publishing a catalogue in 1850 with instruments imported from Germany and France, his sales of instruments grew in importance. In 1840, Kipp was elected into the medical council of the city of Delft. In this responsibility, he conducted various chemical investigations assigned by the authorities, e.g., of drinking water and of lamp oil used in street lighting. Many pharmacists in those times were working on professionalisation of the profession. Kipp was one of the founders in 1842 of the Nederlandsche Maatschappij ter Bevordering der Pharmacy (Dutch Company for the advancement of Pharmacy). Also in 1842, in Delft the Polytechnische Hogeschool was founded by King Willem II. The following year, Kipp's friend Carel Frederik Donnadieu was appointed Professor of Chemistry there. Between 1844 and 1850, Kipp earned extra money by translation of German chemistry books to Dutch for use at the university. In 1842, Kipp published the results of research into the presence of arsenic in livers and kidneys in rabbits. For this research, he used an apparatus to generate hydrogen, which had been developed in 1836 by the English scientist James Marsh. Because the hydrogen production could not easily be stopped during the experiments, Kipp was dissatisfied with the design, and decided to develop his own gas generator. His first version was created by the German glassblower Heinrich Geißler; but was very fragile. The same year, Kipp made a new design, created again by Geißler. This design would be the model for all future versions of the Kipp's apparatus. In 1844, Kipp published two descriptions in the Tijdschrift voor Handel and Nijverheid (Journal for trade and industry). The oldest known copy of the apparatus is owned by the Boerhaave Museum in Leiden. It is 62 cm high and was made between 1845 and 1875. Kipp was married with Hanna Petronella Regina Heijligers. Together they had ten children. After his death in 1864, his activities were continued by his wife and their sons Willem and Anton under the name of 'P.J. Kipp en Zonen.' Willem ran the pharmacy, later under his own name 'W.A. Kipp,' while Anton did the trade of chemicals and instruments. At the end of the 19th century, the own production of scientific and medical instruments grew in importance more than the import of foreign products. In 2008, the three companies still are active: the Delft pharmacy W.A. Kipp, the Delft instrument maker Kipp & Zonen, and the trade company Salm and Kipp.

References

External links

Kipp and Zonen instrument makers, official website Apotheek W.A. Kipp, official website Salm en Kipp trading company, official website

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Petrus Jacobus Kipp

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Petrus Jacobus Kipp claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Petrus Jacobus Kipp before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Petrus Jacobus Kipp ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Petrus Jacobus Kipp

In research: Petrus Jacobus Kipp appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Petrus Jacobus Kipp in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Petrus Jacobus Kipp is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1808 births, 1864 deaths, 19th-century Dutch chemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Petrus Jacobus Kipp outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Petrus Jacobus Kipp in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Petrus Jacobus Kipp means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Petrus Jacobus Kipp out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Petrus Jacobus Kipp in simple terms?

Why does Petrus Jacobus Kipp matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Petrus Jacobus Kipp?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Petrus Jacobus Kipp.