普利斯特里是英国著名的化学家,一生主要靠自学成才。他37岁起研究气体化学,直到终生。他曾分离并论述过大批气体,数目之多超过了他同时代的任何人。他可以说是18世纪下半叶的一位气体化学大师。在气体化学的研究成果中,普利斯特里最重要的是对氧气的发现。他用一个大型凸透镜( Priestley is a famous chemist in the UK. His life is mainly self-taught. He studied gas chemistry from age 37 until his lifetime. He had separated and discussed large quantities of gas, which numbered more than anyone of his contemporaries. He can be said to be a master of gas chemistry in the second half of the 18th century. Among the results of gas chemistry research, Prestry’s most important is the discovery of oxygen. He used a large convex lens (