READ THIS, for an different look at Bronowskian thinking.*
EPISODE PREVIEW
The Shang bronze craftsmen of China and the Samurai swordsmiths pf Ka[am are the starting point for this journey, which leads from the beginnings of chemistry to Dalton's atomic theory and our knowledge of the elements. © 1974, British Broadcasting Company
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CORRECTED (my apologies for the wild goose chase; this problem was harder than I meant it to be, and there were errors in the data as well, as some of you realized. Thanks for doubting and speaking up.
About Dalton and evidence for atoms:
If you decompose 44 g carbon dioxide (CO2) to carbon and oxygen, you'll get 12 g carbon (C) and 32 g oxygen (O2). If you let the oxygen react with all the hydrogen it will, you'll get 36 g water (H2O). If you decompose the water to oxygen and hydrogen, and react the hydrogen with all the carbon it will, you'll get 16 g methane (CH4).
This suggests that atoms really exist, which was not widely accepted in Dalton's time.
It also means that 1 g H, 12 g C, and 16 g O all contain the same number of atoms. That's pretty handy for a chemist who wants to combine elements in the right proportions to make a compound without wasting any of the elements.
