8
1. INTRODUCTION
Vacuum science and technology has a unique
and interesting history.
As early as the 5
th
century BC, the Greek
Philosopher Democrite predicted that
matter was made of atoms and vacuum.
However soon after, believing that “nature
abhors a vacuum”, Aristote and some
other ancient scholars denied the concept
of a vacuum and the possibility of a void.
The belief that vacuum was impossible
existed well into the 17
th
century although
early in that century sceptics were
beginning to question the ancient “fear of
vacuum” concept. This was motivated by
the failure of siphons and the inability of
pumps to “suck” water above heights of
about 10 meters. By mid-century, piston
vacuum pumps were in use and vacuum
science was on its way. It is not surprising
that these early pumps resembled
the water pumps that preceded them
(not unlike the way in which the first
automobiles resembled horse-drawn
buggies).
The next two hundred years were spent in
improving these pumps and in measuring
and characterising vacuum. Progress was
very slow by today’s standards. However,
at that time there was not an urgent need
for vacuum although a few scientists began
to use vacuum as a tool for their research.
The study of electrical discharges at low
pressures was an early example of a study
that continued all through the evolution of
vacuum science and technology.
By the latter part of the 19
th
century,
vacuum technology had advanced to
the point where pressures of 0.1 Pa
or better were achieved, thus making
possible the discovery of the electron,
thermionic emission and x-rays, and
the invention of the incandescent
lamp. The commercial implications
of these developments created an
unprecedented need for the produc-
tion of vacuum on an industrial scale.
Consequently vacuum technology
advanced at an almost explosive rate
by the turn of the 20
th
century and
was followed by many innovations in
the production and measurement of
vacuum for research and industrial
purposes.
60
years of the Union
1958-2018
35
national
vacuum societies
19
presidents