Chambers Street
The Mound
Castle EsplanadeEdinburgh
Castle
Lawnmarket
Johnstone Terrace
Grassmarket
George IV B
ridge
Forrest Road
Lauriston Place
Heriot Place
Keir S
treet
Vic
toria
Street
A7 N
orth Bridge
City Chambers High Street (Royal Mile)
St Giles’Cathedral
The NationalLibrary of Scotland
Cowgate
Tron Kirk
South B
ridge
Bristo Place
Teviot Place
PotterrowBristoSquare
Crichton Street
Pedestrian
access
Pedestrianunderpass
A7 Nicolson Street
Marshall St
W N
icolso
n St
Nicolson
Square
St Mary’s Street
Hill Place
Pleasance
Drummond Street
Canongate
Infirmary Street
Holyrood Road
Blackfriars S
treet
Cowgate
Richm
ond Pl
W Rich
mond St
St John Street
HolyroodCampus
St Leonard’s Street
E Crosscauseway
A7 Clerk Street
Buccleuch Place
Buccleuch S
treet
Hope Park Terrace
Rankeillor Street
Gifford Park
to Pollock
Halls
Melville Drive
George Square
Middle M
eadow W
alk
Meadow Lane
to the King’s B
uildings
Cam
pus
King’s Stables Road
Chalm
ers Street
Lauriston Gardens
A700 Melville Drive
West Port
GreyfriarsKirk
GeorgeHeriot’s School
Surgeons’Hall
EdinburghCentral Mosque
FestivalTheatre
National Museumof Scotland
National PortraitGallery
Royal College of Physicians
Royal Societyof Edinburgh
The Balmoral Hotel
Quartermilecomplex
LauristonBuilding
Princes Street
George Street
Queen Street
St AndrewSquare
South S
t Andrew
Street
South S
t David S
treet
Hanover S
treet
Frederick Street
Castle S
treet
Princes Street
St Andrew’sBus Station
Waverley StationRSA Gallery
National Gallery
W Cros scauseway
Roxburgh St
Roxburgh Pl
Waterloo Place
Leith
Stre
et
Market StreetJeffrey Street
Cockburn Street
Bank S
tThe Meadows
Lady Lawson Street
to Western
General Hospital
New
Street
Mound Place
Waverley B
ridge
Labyrinth
Princes Street Gardens
A1 Regent Road
A90
0
Candlemaker Row
Loth
ian
Stre
et
Chambers Street
The Mound
Castle Esplanade
EdinburghCastle
Lawnmarket
Johnstone Terrace
Grassmarket
George IV B
ridge
Forrest Road
Lauriston Place
Heriot Place
Keir S
treet
Vic
toria
Street
A7 North B
ridge
City Chambers High Street (Royal Mile)
St Giles’Cathedral
The NationalLibrary of Scotland
Cowgate
Tron Kirk
South B
ridge
Bristo Place
Teviot Place
Potterrow
BristoSquare
Crichton Street
Pedestrian
access
Pedestrianunderpass
A7 Nicolson Street
Marshall St
W N
icolso
n St
Nicolson
Square
St Mary’s Street
Hill Place
Pleasance
Drummond Street
Canongate
Infirmary Street
Holyrood Road
Blackfriars S
treet
Cowgate
Richm
ond Pl
W R
ichm
ond S
t
St John Street
HolyroodCampus
St Leonard’s Street
E Crosscauseway
A7 Clerk Street
Buccleuch Place
Buccleuch S
treet
Hope Park Terrace
Rankeillor S
treet
Gifford Park
to Pollock
Halls
Melville Drive
George Square
Middle M
eadow W
alk
Meadow Lane
to the King’s Buildings
Cam
pus
King’s Stables Road
Chalm
ers Street
Lauriston Gardens
A700 Melville Drive
West Port
GreyfriarsKirk
GeorgeHeriot’s School
Surgeons’Hall
EdinburghCentral Mosque
FestivalTheatre
National Museumof Scotland
National PortraitGallery
Royal College of Physicians
Royal Societyof Edinburgh
The Balmoral Hotel
Quartermilecomplex
LauristonBuilding
Princes Street
George Street
Queen Street
St AndrewSquare
South S
t Andrew S
treet
South S
t David S
treet
Hanover S
treet
Frederick Street
Castle S
treet
Princes Street
St Andrew’sBus Station
Waverley Station
RSA Gallery
National Gallery
W Cros scauseway
Roxburgh St
Roxburgh Pl
Waterloo PlaceLeith
Stre
et
Market Street Jeffrey Street
Cockburn Street
Bank S
t
The Meadows
Lady Lawson Street
to Western
General Hospital
New
Street
Mound Place
Waverley B
ridge
Labyrinth
Princes Street Gardens
A1 Regent Road
A90
0
Candlemaker Row
Loth
ian
Stre
et
Chloroform52 Queen Street
Artificial RefrigerationRoyal College of Physicians
Structure and Synthesis of Vitamin CRoyal Society of Edinburgh
LactucariumThe Balmoral Hotel
Carbon DioxideNational Museum of Scotland
MorphineThe Old CollegeUniversity of Edinburgh
StrontiumGreyfriars Churchyard
Molecular Modelling The Old Medical SchoolTeviot Place
Carbon DioxiDe
national MuseuM of sCotlanD,
ChaMbers street, eh1 1Jf
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a naturally occurring compound and is the primary
source of carbon for life on Earth. It exists in the Earth’s atmosphere as a trace
gas at a concentration of 0.039 % by volume, but this concentration is rapidly
increasing with the burning of carbon-based fuels such as coal, oil and gas. An
increased level of CO2 in the atmosphere is contributing to the rate of global
warming and ocean acidification.
Joseph Black, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh (1766 to
1796) discovered carbon dioxide gas in 1756. Black observed that the gas,
which he called ‘fixed air,’ was denser than air and supported neither flame nor
animal life.
➠At the National Museum of Scotland look for the Playfair Collection.
This collection includes the balance said to have been used by Black
in his quantitative experiments on alkalis, which led to the identification
of carbon dioxide.
strontiuM
Greyfriars ChurChyarD, eh1 2Qe
The brilliant flash of a crimson firework or the bright red flares that you see at
football matches are thanks to strontium-containing salts. The element strontium
is a soft, silvery metal that burns in air and reacts with water. It is the 15th most
abundant element on earth and is used for producing special glass for televisions
and producing ferrite magnets and refining zinc.
In 1793, Thomas Charles Hope announced the existence of a “hitherto unknown
earth.” This was the salt of a new element, later called strontium after the village
Strontian where the first strontium mineral, Strontianite, was found. Metallic
strontium was extracted in 1813 by electrolysis by Sir Humphry Davy.
➠The gravestone of Thomas Charles Hope can be seen in Greyfriars
Churchyard. As you enter look at the map on the right-hand side of the
kirk to find the location of his grave.
Morphine
the olD ColleGe,
university of eDinburGh, eh8 9yl
Morphine is widely used to relieve moderate to severe pain as in a class of
medications called opiate (narcotic) analgesics. It works by changing the way
the body senses pain. Morphine is a basic compound that reacts with acids to
form salts, and it is in salt form that morphine is most usually administered to
patients.
In 1831 William Gregory (1803-1858) published a process for isolating morphine
hydrochloride in a high state of purity. The importance of Gregory’s work became
clear in 1855 when the hypodermic injection was introduced into general
practice and pure morphine salts were essential for the technique. Demand and
production reached high levels in the second half of the nineteenth century and
alkaloid manufacture is still the principal activity of the pharmaceutical company
Macfarlan Smith Ltd, based in Edinburgh.
William Gregory’s laboratories at the University of Edinburgh were located in the
south-west corner of the Old College. The former chemistry laboratories were
converted in 1973 into the Talbot Rice Art Gallery.
➠As you enter the courtyard, you will find the gallery at the far left
hand corner.
MoleCular MoDellinG
the olD MeDiCal sChool, teviot plaCe,
eh8 9aG
Alexander Crum Brown (1838-1922) developed graphical formulae to represent
the structure of molecules, with atoms labelled as letters and bonds as lines. This
system is still used by chemists today. Crum Brown was a knitting enthusiast and by
using balls of wool and knitting needles he constructed a bonding model for sodium
chloride. This model, which was subsequently proved by x-rays to be correct, is on
display in the School of Chemistry’s museum at The King’s Buildings campus.
Professor Crum Brown taught chemistry at Teviot Place whilst he was Chair of
Chemistry and it is in fact his teachings in the late 1800s that are believed to have
influenced Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in his Sherlock Holmes stories.
➠Look for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s plaque on the left hand side of the
passage as you enter the courtyard of the Old Medical School at Teviot place.
ChloroforM
52 Queen street, eh2 3ns
Chloroform is an organic compound with formula CHCl3. Today several million
tonnes are produced annually as a precursor to PTFE (polytetrafluoroethlyene)
and refrigerants, although its use for refrigerants is being phased out.
It was in this very house, on the 4th of November, 1847, that James Young
Simpson and friends first inhaled chloroform after dinner, sending them
unconscious until the following morning! Within days James Young Simpson
who was an obstetrician, was administering it to his patients during childbirth.
The use of chloroform during surgery expanded across Europe and in the
1850s chloroform was used at the birth of Queen Victoria’s last two children.
At the beginning of the 20th century its use was abandoned due to the
discovery of chloroform’s toxicity, especially its tendency to cause fatal
cardiac arrhythmia.
➠Look for the plaque at the house.
artifiCial refriGeration
royal ColleGe of physiCians,
9 Queen street, eh2 1JQ
The first recorded instance of artificial refrigeration was unveiled by physicist
and chemist William Cullen (1710-1790) in the mid-18th century. Cullen
achieved the effect of refrigeration by boiling ethyl ether in a partial vacuum.
Although he gave demonstrations of his discovery, there was no proposal at
the time to commercialise his technique.
William Cullen was the president of the Royal College of Physicians of
Edinburgh in 1773 and also held the position of Chair of Chemistry at the
University of Edinburgh from 1756 until 1766. Since 1844, the Royal College
of Physicians of Edinburgh has been located at 9 Queen Street and adjacent
properties.
➠Look for the two snakes, associated with healing properties, on
either side of the door.
struCture anD synthesis
of vitaMin C
royal soCiety of eDinburGh,
22-24 GeorGe street, eh2 2pQ
Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin. Unlike
most mammals, humans do not have the ability to make their own vitamin C.
We need to obtain it through our diet as severe vitamin C deficiency causes
the disease scurvy. Fortunately vitamin C can be found in a wide variety of fruit
and vegetables including oranges, strawberries, blackcurrants and broccoli.
In 1934, Edmund Hirst in partnership with Norman Haworth identified the
structure of vitamin C and synthesised it for the first time. In fact, this feat
represented the very first synthesis of any vitamin. Sir Edmund Hirst (1898
- 1975) was the first holder of the Forbes Chair of Organic Chemistry at
the University of Edinburgh and also the President of the Royal Society of
Edinburgh(RSE) from 1959 to 1964.
➠Whilst the photograph of Edmund Hirst in the President’s corridor
of the RSE is only available to view on request, see how many other
Scottish chemists you can recognise in the foyer
laCtuCariuM
balMoral hotel, eh2 2eQ
The location of a pharmaceutical firm, Duncan and Ogilvie, which was
established in 1820 is now occupied by The Balmoral Hotel. From 1836 the
firm manufactured lactucarium, a substitute for opium. Lactucarium occurs
naturally as the milky fluid secreted by several species of lettuce and was
used by the Ancient Egyptians. It is also known as ‘lettuce opium’ because of
its similar properties to opium.
➠Look for the plaque at the side of The Balmoral Hotel on
North Bridge that records the site of the premises. From 1847,
the firm was commissioned by Sir James Young Simpson to
manufacture chloroform, the first British firm to do so.
Edinburgh walking tour
ChEmistry trail
CHEMISTRY-map_brochure.indd 1 09/09/2013 11:55
