Charles Bernard Desormes (; 3 June 1777 – 30 August 1862) was a French

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

and chemist. He determined the ratio of the specific heats of

gas Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma). A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or ...

es in 1819. He did this and almost all his scientific work in collaboration with his son-in-law

Nicolas Clément Nicolas Clément (12 January 1779 – 21 November 1841) was a French physicist and chemist. He was a colleague of Charles Desormes, with whom he conducted the Clément-Desormes experiment. The two chemists are also credited with determining a ...

(1779–1841). Clément and Desormes correctly determined the composition of

carbon disulfide Carbon disulfide (also spelled as carbon disulphide) is a neurotoxic, colorless, volatile liquid with the formula and structure . The compound is used frequently as a building block in organic chemistry as well as an industrial and chemical non ...

(CS₂) and

carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a colorless, poisonous, odorless, tasteless, flammable gas that is slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the simple ...

(CO) in 1801–02. In 1806 they elucidated all the chemical reactions that take place during the production of

sulfuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular formu ...

by the lead chamber method, as used in industrial chemistry. In 1813 they made a study of iodine and its compounds. Desormes was born in

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

Côte-d'Or Côte-d'Or (; literally, "Golden Slope") is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 534,124.École Polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

from 1794, when it opened, and subsequently worked there as a demonstrator. Désormes met Clément at the Ecole Polytechnique 1801, beginning a scientific collaboration that lasted until 1824. He left the Ecole 1804 to establish an alum refinery at

Verberie Verberie () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It lies southwest of Compiègne on the main road to Senlis and Paris. The railway station is on the line from Compiègne to Crépy-en-Valois. The inhabitants are known as ''Sa ...

Oise Oise ( ; ; pcd, Oése) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 ...

, with Clément and Joseph Montgolfier, who had earlier pioneered balloon flight. Desormes was elected counsellor for Oise 1830 and in 1848 to the national assembly, in which he sat with the moderate republicans. He died in

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Farlex.com
1771 births 1862 deaths Scientists from Dijon Politicians from Dijon Moderate Republicans (France) Members of the 1848 Constituent Assembly 19th-century French chemists 19th-century French physicists École Polytechnique alumni Members of the French Academy of Sciences {{france-chemist-stub