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HISTORY                                                                                                                                                                                                                       HISTORY
        Russian metallurgist                                                                                                            Special attention should be paid to the appendix titled "On the free movement of air in the

        Part 4                                At the same time, in the 18th century, when Russian metallurgical                  mines noted from the first volume of new commentaries", with which Lomonosov accompanied
                                                                                                                                 his book.
                                       technology showed itself so brilliantly, the foundation was laid for the
                                       scientific foundations of metallurgy.                                                            Dedicating  the  beginning  of  this  application to  the  study  of  the  natural  ventilation of
               The  initiative  here  belonged  to  Mikhail Vasilyevich  Lomonosov.  In  1763,  the  brilliant                   mines, Lomonosov created an accurate theory of
        scientist published his work: "The first foundations of metallurgy, or ore affairs", written back                        the movement of airflows in mines, set out in a
        in 1742. These were indeed the first foundations of scientific metallurgy.                                               "mathematical order". Brilliantly finding a solution
               By the time this work was published, there were only a few books on metallurgy in the                             to this particular problem, Lomonosov makes an
        world of the technical literature. In addition, these were only descriptions of individual factories                     ingenious generalization and applies his theory to
        and mines, and they could use such descriptions only in those places about which these books                             the study of the motion of heated gases in caves
        were known. Metallurgists of other factories, dealing with other ores, other fuel, were powerless                        and fiery furnaces.
        to extract anything for themselves from similar publications.                                                                   The significance of this theory of Lomonosov
               Before Lomonosov there was no scientific work that summarized practice and gave general                           has  not  yet  been  exhausted.  It  is described  in
        laws of metallurgical production. In addition, the need for this work was enormous. We can                               textbooks  and  encyclopedias  as  "the  hydraulic
        judge about it by how the Lomonosov work was received. Attention is drawn to the fact that it                            theory of the motion of flames and light gases"
        was published in a very large circulation for that time – 1,225 copies.                                                  and  helps engineers calculate  blast furnaces,                A diagram made by Lomonosov to explain his
                                                                                                                                                                                                theory of the movement of gases in mines,
        The demand for this book is also striking. From archival documents, for example, it is known that                        open-hearth furnaces, and heating furnaces.                    caves, fiery furnaces
                            almost immediately after the publication of The First Foundations of Metallurgy,                            Lomonosov's  book  "The  First Foundations
                               100 copies of this book were sent only to Kolyvano-Voskresensk factories,                         of Metallurgy, or Ore Deeds" has faithfully served
                                the number at that time is also very significant.                                                Russian  metallurgists  as  an  excellent  guide  for
                                     Professor V. V. Danilevsky, evaluating one of the applications with which                   more than half a century. Great help was rendered
                                Lomonosov accompanied his work, writes: "Such works of Lomonosov as                              by the great Lomonosov to his compatriots, who
                                "On the strata of the earth" are a classic example of how to fight for the                       seized  the  ore  resources  of  the  Urals,  Siberia,
                                development of production."                                                                      Altai, Ukraine.
                                     In  a  bright,  expressive  language,  Lomonosov  told about  the  main                            However,  there  were  people  who  tried
                               moments  of  metal  mining,  scientifically  summarized  the  rich  experience                    to take  away  from  Lomonosov  the  glory  of  the
                               accumulated by his time in this area, gave a lot of valuable advice. With his                     founder of scientific metallurgy, to cross out his
                                inherent perspicacity, Lomonosov expressed here a number of ideas that                           services  in this area.  This was  done  after  the
                                were developed only in later times.                                                              death of Lomonosov. In 1776, an article appeared
                                     So, starting his work with a description of metals and semimetals, "to                      in St.  Petersburg  Vedomosti,  claiming that  The
                                     extract which is the task of metallurgy", Lomonosov specially dwells on                     First Foundations of Metallurgy were supposedly
                                       the "art of assay", which is necessary for every metallurgist to analyze                  not the original work of a Russian scientist, but
                                         ore raw materials and obtained metals. In simple, understandable                        just a translation of a German book.                                 Drawing of a filling machine used
                                          words for an ordinary metallurgist, he talks about how to make                                It was not difficult to refute this slanderous                in Altai in the eighties of the 18th
                                           such samples, talks about the basics of quantitative analysis. The                    fabrication. The "original", which the newspaper                     century.
                                            techniques of "assay art" taught by Lomonosov have long been                         reported, described only the work of one of the
                                             preserved in the scientific arsenal of metallurgy. And many of                      factories  in Germany,  where  the  author  of  this
    Professor V. V. Danilevsky              them are still alive.                                                                book was the manager. In addition, this work was
               Further, describing the design of furnaces for smelting "metals from ores into ingots", the                       much smaller in size than the fundamental work
        author strongly recommends conducting experimental research smelting. "Skillful smelters",                               of Lomonosov.
        he  writes,  "first  try  the  ore  found  by  different  samples  with                                                         However,  no  refutation  followed in St.
        different materials through melting: and which method supplies                                                           Petersburg  Vedomosti.  And  for  a  long time the
        more metal without unnecessary waste, that one is used".                                                                 enemies of Lomonosov and of all Russian science
               Lomonosov also writes about the need for ore millimg.                                                             tried to trump their cards with the slander they
        He teaches how to separate poor ores containing little metal                                                             had invented.
        from rich ores. He proposes to enrich ores - to free them from                                                                                                                          Metallurgist laboratory. Drawing from
        "empty" rock devoid of metal: sift them or separate unnecessary                                                                                                                         Lomonosov's book "The first foundations of
        impurities with water. The requirement to beneficiate ores in                                                                                                                           metallurgy, or ore business".
        order  to free  the  metal  from  harmful  impurities and  avoid
        wasting  fuel  for  melting  waste  rock  was  first  suggested  by
        Lomonosov.
               It goes without saying that both research metallurgical
        laboratories and enrichment factories of our day were able to
        grow only on the basis of the latest scientific data, that their
        birth was preceded by decades of hard work by many scientists.                                                                                                                                                         To be continued.
        However, Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov was the first to put
        his work into this business.                                                     The title page of the book by                                                                                       "Stories about the Russian Championship"
                                                                                         M. V. Lomonosov                                                                                                                               Moscow, 1950



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