'Johann Heinrich Schultz' (
★ 12th May 1687 in
Colbitz; †10th October 1744 in
Halle), also known as Johann Heinrich Schulze, was a German professor and universal scholar.
History
Schultz studied
medicine,
chemistry,
philosophy and
theology and became a professor in
Altdorf and Halle for
anatomy and several other subjects.
Notable discoveries
Schultz is best known for the discovery that certain silver salts, most notably
silver chloride and
silver nitrate, darken in the presence of
light. In an experiment conducted in
1724 he determined that a mixture of
silver and
chalk reflects less light than untarnished silver. Though his discovery did not provide the means of preserving an image - the silver salts continued to darken unless protected from
light - it did provide the foundation for further work in fixing images. The first permanent photograph based on this principle was made in 1826 by
Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in
Paris. Other researchers in this field included
Thomas Wedgwood and
Sir Humphry Davy.
See also
★
Medicine
★
Chemistry
★
Philosophy
★
Theology
References
External links