Robert Boyle, FRS, (25 January 1627 – 31 December 1691) was a 17th-century natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, and inventor, also noted for his writings in theology. He has been variously described as Irish, English and Anglo-Irish, his father having come to Ireland from England during the time of the Plantations.
Although his research clearly has its roots in the alchemical tradition, Boyle is largely regarded today as the first modern chemist, and therefore one of the founders of modern chemistry, and one of the pioneers of modern experimental scientific method. He is best known for Boyle's law, which describes the inversely proportional relationship between the absolute pressure and volume of a gas, if the temperature is kept constant within a closed system. Among his works, The Sceptical Chymist is seen as a cornerstone book in the field of chemistry. (From Wikipedia 2012)
In this book, the only one about his studies of minerals and gems, Boyle is shown to have an understanding of minerals far in advance of his contemporaries. He was probably the first geochemist in history, for he was one of the first scientists to experimentally study the crystalllization of minerals from solutions, and from cooling of molten materials, and from these experiments to conclude that similar conditions beneath the Earth's surface created gems and minerals. Also, he contributed greatly to the science of mineralogy. For the first time, he observed and understood that the easy breaking of many crystals along planes of weakness (now called 'cleavages') was an indicator of the internal structure of those crystals. He also understood how specific gravity and mineral hardness could be used to help identify minerals and to separate minerals from others of similar color and appearance. He speculated about the presence of trace substances as affecting both the color and medicinal properties of minerals; and he concluded that these trace substances were incorporated into minerals as they grew within the Earth.
I've also included a short glossary of many of the obsolete 17th century chemical terms used in the book.
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