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Robert Boyle, the son of an aristocrat, the Count of Cork, was born in 1627 in Waterford, Ireland. Went to study at the famous British school of Eaton, traveled with his tutor al over Europe a studied the Galileo Paradoxes.

In 1644 his father died and he inherited his fortune. He used it to support his scientific discoveries, became involved with the prominent scientists of his time in what was know then as the "Invisible College" group, people consecrated to the study of science.

With the help of Robert Hooke, built the Boylean Machine or Pneumatic Vacuum Pump in 1659. He then published his finding in a scientific paper, "New Experiments Physico-Mechanical Touching the Spring of Air and its Effects".

Using his pump, he demonstrated the Galileo theory where a piece of lead and a feather fell at the same speed. He also discovered that the sound could not travel inside the vacuum. Boyle discovered the vacuum pump principle, later called Boyle´s Law, also the Boyle-Mariotte Law; where a gas filled volume is inversely proportional to that gas compressible pressure.

He also found that a comprised gas was made of small particles separated by the vacuum. He published all these theories in a book with and long name, usually referred as "The Air Elasticity". It played a big roll to establish the idea of the Atomic Nature of matter.

The Invisible College later became the Royal Society of London In 1663, and Boyle one of its council members. In 1680 became president of the Royal Society. He died in 1691.

Robert Boyle is regarded today as one of the fathers of modern chemistry.
Source(s):
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Boyle

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