ORIGINS OF MODERNITY

alchemy & chemistry

Lavoisier, Antoine Laurent (1743-1794)
Opuscules physiques et chymiques
Paris : Durand neveu, ..., Didot le jeune, ..., Esprit, ..., 1774.

This is Antoine Lavoisier's (1743-94) first book. It deals with the phenomena of disengagement and fixation of an elastic fluid during combustion and fermentation. It represents the first phase in a series of experiments which ultimately led to the rejection of the phlogiston theory and the discovery of oxygen. In order to have the book published, Lavoisier had to reperform all the experiments before the Commissioners of the Royal Academy of Sciences in Paris.