Antoine Laurent Lavoisier

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Antoine Laurent Lavoisier
Known as the Father of Chemistry
A victim of the guillotine on May 8, 1794
Received his degrees in law at the College Mazarin
Known for his work on Phlogiston and his Tables
of Chemical Elements
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Was Lavoisier really the Father of Chemistry?

• Lavoisier has always been known as the Father of
  Chemistry
• because
• With the phlogiston theory disproved, chemistry
  could move forward.
• The development of Lavoisiers Table of Chemical
  Elements fulfilled the chemical language
  reformation that was needed to further chemistry.
• Without these developments, modern Chemistry
  would not be what it is today.

• However
• Lavoisiers ability to disprove the phlogiston
  theory was ultimately based on Priestleys
  experiments.
• Lavoisiers table of chemical elements was also
  developed with the help of Louis Bernard Guyton
  de Morveau, Claude Louis Berthollet, and Antoine
  Fourcroy.
• It may seem that Lavoisier is merely a Co Father
  of Chemistry. However, Lavoisier developed the
  results of other scientific experiments (such as
  Priestleys), which credits him with the final
  results.

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Lavoisiers Famous Work
1. The Phlogiston Theory Lavoisier heated
mercury, which became mercury oxide. The volume
of air in the container with the mercury oxide
became less, which supports the assumption that
the mercury gave off phlogiston, which caused the
volume of the air to decrease, in order to make
room for the phlogiston. The problems began when
Lavoisier reversed his experiment and heated the
calx with charcoal, which returned it to its
metallic form and released a gas (carbon dioxide,
due to the charcoal). Lavoisier heated the
mercury oxide, in order to see if more phlogiston
would be released, causing the volume of air to
decrease once again. However, the volume of air
in the container with the mercury oxide increased
to where it originally was and the mercury oxide
returned to mercury. He did not conclude that
the new gas was a fraction of atmospheric air
until 1777. Lavoisier called this new gas
oxygen, (oxy- acid gen- maker) because it is
the principle that makes acid.
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2. The Tables of Chemical Elements Lavoisiers
idea Since nothing is either lost or created,
it is possible to determine the nature of a
compound body by analysis. Similarly, if one
gives an exact designation to simple elements,
one should be able to define compound bodies by
combining words in the way one combines bodies.
The lists consisted of fifty-five elements
(indecomposable substances), sixteen known
metals, and other substances.
.
Salt (magnesium carbonate) was known as
magnesie blanche, magnesie aere de Bergman,
magnesie crayeuse, craie magnesienne, magnesie
effervescente, mephite de magnesie, terre
muriatique de Kirvan, poudre du comte de Palme,
or poudre du comte de Santinelli. A total of
nine different names.
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Biography
Born in Paris, France, 1743 as the first child
of Jean Antoine Laurent and Emilie Punctis. He
followed in his fathers footsteps and studied
Law at the College Mazarin. Lavoisier worked
with geologist Jean-Etienne Guettard on the
geology of France, analyzing the waters of
France. He was eventually the youngest person
ever elected to the Academy of Sciences. In
1771, Lavoisier married Jaques Paulze, who
recorded Lavoisiers work and translated English
texts for Lavoisier.
When Lavoisier began his research in
chemistry, several experiments on gases had
already been conducted. Timeline of Lavoisiers
precursors
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Timeline
1659 Robert Boyle developed first apparatus to
isolate gas. Defined element as a substance that
cannot be decomposed. Studied the calcinations
of metals.
1756 Joseph Black was first to succeed in
isolating and identifying a gas fixed air.
Showed that fixed air was also produced in
respiration, fermentation, and the burning of
charcoal.
1648 Van Helmont creates the word gas and noted
that different gases existed.
1718 Georg Stahl explains combustion with the
phlogiston theory, saying all combustible bodies
contain an inflammable principle, named
phlogiston. When the substance burns, it
releases phlogiston.
1774 Lavoisier meets with Joseph Priestley and
they discuss Priestleys experiments.
1766 Henry Cavendish isolated inflammable air
(hydrogen) and differentiated it from Blacks
fixed air.
1770s Joseph Priestley isolates several other
gases.
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Melting of Ores Fire Gives Phlogiston to Earth
(Ore) to Produce Metal
Phlogiston in air
Metal
Earth
(Phlogiston rich)
(phlogiston poor)
Corrosion of Metal Metal Surrenders Phlogiston to
Air to Produce Earth (Calx)
Combustion of Wood Wood Surrenders Phlogiston to
Air to Produce Earth (Ash)
Phlogiston in air
wood
(phlogiston rich)
Ashes into phlogiston
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Scientists during the French Revolution
Shiver my timbers, there they are, brought down
at last, those Farmers General who grew rich only
by ruining poor people! --the Pere Duchesne
In 1778, Lavoisier joins The Farmers General,
the institution responsible for collecting taxes
for the monarch. Members of The Farmers
General were arrested on July 14, 1798. Although
Lavoisier was not there during the time of the
arrest, he soon turned himself in to the police,
because he felt he could prove his innocence
against the accusations. There was a total of
about 8 different accusations, totaling 130
million livres. November 28, 1793, Lavoisier,
along with his father-in-law, entered the
Port-Libre prison, better known as The Bog.
On December 25, the prisoners were moved to
Lavoisiers mansion, where he conducted his
experiments. After the long trial process, the
prisoners were beheaded by the guillotine on May,
8 1794. Lavoisier was relying on his scientific
achievements to protect him however, his
politics overruled his science. Like many other
scientists during the French Revolution,
Lavoisier was persecuted for his political
beliefs.