The tendency to quantify chemical phenomena reached its apex near the end of the 18th century, when it was discovered that atmospheric air was not a simple element but was made up of numerous gases. To analyze air and determine its chemical nature, highly sophisticated instruments were needed. Some of these devices were designed for applications of public usefulness: eudiometers, that measured the purity of air, and Volta's electric pistol (in which hydrogen was exploded in the presence of oxygen, obtaining water), forerunner of the hydrogen lamp.