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SVEN Rinman was one of the greatest men in mining and metallurgy of all times. He possessed curiosity, carried out his own, systematic research, gathered practical experience - including from others - and was able to implement his ideas in industry. He held top positions in the Swedish industrial and academic world, which was among the leading in Europe.
His list of publications is very impressive and included: 'Anledninger till kunskap om den grövre jem-och stdlförädlingen (1772), Törsök till järnets historia med tillämpningför slögder och handverkare' (1782), Bergwerkslexicon (1788-89) and Aßandling rörande mechaniquen' (together with E Nordwall) ( 1794-1800). A total of several thousand pages.
It is proper in the present context to focus on his contributions as a scientist, eagerly seeking an understanding of the many-sided properties of iron and steel, including extraction from iron ores. He grew up with the Phlogiston theory, which is associated with the German chemists JJ Becher and GE Stahl. Above all the theory was...