Peter Desaga was a German instrument maker at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

who worked with

Robert Bunsen Robert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen (; 30 March 1811 – 16 August 1899) was a German chemist. He investigated emission spectra of heated elements, and discovered caesium (in 1860) and rubidium (in 1861) with the physicist Gustav Kirchhoff. The Bu ...

. In 1855, Desaga perfected an earlier design of the laboratory burner by

Michael Faraday Michael Faraday (; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English scientist who contributed to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic inducti ...

into the

Bunsen burner A Bunsen burner, named after Robert Bunsen, is a kind of ambient air gas burner used as laboratory equipment; it produces a single open gas flame, and is used for heating, sterilization, and combustion. The gas can be natural gas (which is main ...

. Neither Desaga nor Bunsen patented the design, and many imitations were marketed.Louis Rosenfeld, ''Four Centuries of Clinical Chemistry'', 1999,
n.p.
/ref> The Bunsen burner was essential to the invention of the

spectroscope An optical spectrometer (spectrophotometer, spectrograph or spectroscope) is an instrument used to measure properties of light over a specific portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, typically used in spectroscopic analysis to identify mate ...

by Robert Bunsen and

Gustav Kirchhoff Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (; 12 March 1824 – 17 October 1887) was a German physicist who contributed to the fundamental understanding of electrical circuits, spectroscopy, and the emission of black-body radiation by heated objects. He coine ...

. Peter Desaga's son, Carl Desaga, founded C. Desaga.

Notes

References

* Douglas Allchin writing for SHiPS, University of Minnesota
In the Shadows of Giants - remarks on "the tradition of professional credit".
Retrieved June 6, 2005. * Williams, Kathryn R., A Burning Issue. J. Chem. Educ. 2000, 77, 558–559. * Russell, Colin A., Bunsen without his burner. Phys. Educ. 1999, 34 321-326; *Royal Society of Chemistry: Chemistry World, Oct 2007 Issue. http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/Issues/2007/October/ClassicKitBunsenBurner.asp Retrieved November 9, 2011. Year of death missing Technicians Year of birth missing {{Germany-engineer-stub