oxygen

History

The honor of discovering oxygen is shared by Swedish apothecary Carl Scheele (1771) and English clergyman Joseph Priestley (1774). However, the real revolution was made by Frenchman Antoine Lavoisier: he gave the new gas the name 'oxygène' (acid-former) and proved that it is oxygen that supports combustion and respiration.

How it works

Oxygen reacts with nutrients, like wood in a campfire: slowly, without flame, but with energy release. In the lungs, it enters the blood and, like on a conveyor belt, is distributed by red blood cells to all organs, where it helps 'burn' glucose, giving us heat and strength.

History

The honor of discovering oxygen is shared by Swedish apothecary Carl Scheele (1771) and English clergyman Joseph Priestley (1774). However, the real revolution was made by Frenchman Antoine Lavoisier: he gave the new gas the name 'oxygène' (acid-former) and proved that it is oxygen that supports combustion and respiration.

How it works

Oxygen reacts with nutrients, like wood in a campfire: slowly, without flame, but with energy release. In the lungs, it enters the blood and, like on a conveyor belt, is distributed by red blood cells to all organs, where it helps 'burn' glucose, giving us heat and strength.

History

Oxygen was first isolated by Scheele (1771) and Priestley (1774), but the decisive role was played by Lavoisier (1777), who refuted the phlogiston theory and showed that air consists of two gases: 'vital' (oxygen) and 'asphyxiating' (nitrogen). In 1781, Cavendish synthesized water from hydrogen and oxygen. In the 20th century, the Nobel Prize was awarded to Otto Warburg (1931) for his work on the respiratory enzyme using oxygen.

How it works

In mitochondria, oxygen serves as the final electron acceptor in the electron transport chain, being reduced to water. This process, coupled with ATP synthesis, obeys the second law of thermodynamics: the energy of chemical bonds in food is converted into the energy of high-energy phosphate bonds in ATP with heat dissipation. Without oxygen, the cell switches to anaerobic glycolysis, which is 18 times less efficient.

Open problems & fun facts

Creating stable and cheap catalysts for water electrolysis with oxygen release—key to hydrogen energy; Preventing oxidative stress during cryopreservation of organs for transplantation; Search for biomarkers (including oxygen) in exoplanet atmospheres as signs of life

💡 Pure oxygen is toxic at depth: divers breathe helium mixtures to avoid convulsions. Also, liquid oxygen is a pale blue liquid that boils at -183°C and makes even iron burn.