Antoine Lavoisier and the Origin of Modern Chemistry | AMS OpenMind

Matter… is a complicated matter. In Ancient Greece, Aristotle thought it was made of fire, water, air, and earth. 🌍 His theory was accepted for 2,000 years. But today, we know it’s composed of over a hundred elements. How did we change our view?

In 1772, a Parisian named Antoine Lavoisier was trying to improve gunpowder. 💥 He studied what happens during combustion. At that time, people believed in a fire-like fluid called phlogiston inside all matter. Burning things released phlogiston, making ashes weigh less than the original object. 🔥

Working with his wife, Marie-Anne Paulze, Lavoisier designed a sealed vessel. They burned phosphorus inside it and found the vessel’s weight remained the same before and after, as nothing escaped. But the matter inside weighed more after burning! If phlogiston theory were correct, it should weigh less. Unless… air wasn’t just air. 🌬️

Lavoisier had heard of Cavendish’s experiments, synthesizing water by mixing two gases he called inflammable air and dephlogisticated air. Using a vacuum pump, Lavoisier removed air from a sealed vessel, introduced the gases, and ignited them. Voilà! Water appeared. 💧

Lavoisier proved water wasn’t an element but composed of hydrogen and oxygen. This was revolutionary! Air, water… the four classical elements were combinations of new elements to be identified and described. Supported by his wife and fellow scientists, Lavoisier identified 55 elements and developed a systematic naming method. 📚

His textbook contained three simple ideas: phlogiston doesn’t exist, matter is composed of elements, and matter is neither created nor destroyed, only transformed through chemical reactions. The rest is history.

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