CAVENDISH, liENRY (1731-1810). _111 Eng lish natural philosopher and chemist. Ile Otis born in Nice, the eldest son of Lord Charles Cavendish and a nephew of the third Duke of 1)evonshire. Ile was educated at Petcrlionse College, Cambridge, lint left without, taking Ids degree. and devoted his entire life to the study of mathematics and physival science. Ile in herited considerable means from his uncle and was thus able to gratify his taste for scientific investigation. The was unmarried and lived in quiet retirement, having intereourse with few pc•rsons. and having no interests beyond his scientific studies and investigations. His first published work was entitled E.rperitacats on .Irstnic (1711-1), but his earliest experiments of interest were on heat, and were 110t 1/111/1 'Shed for a number of years after they were performed. These experiments int-hided the study of the evolution of heat when a liquid is solidified or a gas condensed, as well as an investigation into the subject of specific hents of substances, The first scientific paper of importance pub lished by Cavendish was on Pactitious Air, and was eommuni•ated to the Royal in 1700, while later he undertook the study of carbonic at-id gas, determining its specific gravity and showing that a small amount would so itiate common air as to make it impossible to support either or life. The most celebrated
work of Cavendish was his ascertaining "that water consists of dephlogisticated air (oxygen) united with phlogiston (hydrogen)." One of the most celebrated of the experiments performed by Cavendish was the determination of the dens ity of the earth (Philosophical Transactions, 179S), by a method to ‘vhielt hi-) name has been given. This plan had been suggested by the Rev. John Mitchell. )ind consisted of having a suspended rod Willi two lead balls at it, tremities. When masses of metal were placed near these balls the force of attraction exerted het \Veen the masses could be measured. Accord ingly it was possible to compute the attraction exerted on a mass the size of the earth and thus determine its density. Cavendish ascertained this quantity to be 5.45, a figure that has been slightly raised by subsequent experiments. Cav endish lived almost in solitude, and died leaving a fortune of f1,175,000. The Electrical Re searches of Henry OW 1111iS11, edited by J. Clerk _Maxwell, were published (Cambridge, England, 1870). Consult Wilson. Life of Cavendish (Lon don. 1840. See Cor:mIsTitY.