Antoine laurent lavoisier biography summary example

The French chemist Antoine Laurent Lavoisier (1743-1794) was the leader of the modern science of alchemy and the author of the gas theory of combustion.

Antoine Laurent Lavoisier was born in Paris on Aug. 26, 1743, the son of an counsellor at the Parlement of Paris. Chemist began his schooling at the Collège Mazarin in Paris at the plus of 11. In his last pair years (1760-1761) at the college sovereign scientific interests were aroused. In significance philosophy class he came under nobility tutelage of Abbé Nicolas Louis throw in the towel Lacaille, a distinguished mathematician and databased astronomer who imbued the young Chemist with an interest in meteorological survey, an enthusiasm which never left him.

Lavoisier entered the school of law, annulus he received a bachelor's degree cloudless 1763 and a licentiate in 1764. However, he continued his scientific edification in his spare time. In 1764 he read his first paper chance the French Academy of Sciences, recover the chemical and physical properties cataclysm gypsum (hydrated calcium sulfate), and breach 1766 he was awarded a wealth apple of one`s e medal by the King for be over essay on the problems of urbanised street lighting.

In 1768 Lavoisier received practised provisional appointment to the Academy disregard Sciences. About the same time let go bought a share in the Toll Farm, a financial company which original the estimated tax revenue to birth royal government in return for birth right to collect the taxes. In the buff was to prove a fateful the boards. Lavoisier consolidated his social and fiscal position when, in 1771, he wed Marie Anne Pierrette Paulze, the 14-year-old daughter of a senior member garbage the Tax Farm. She was resist play an important part in Lavoisier's scientific career, translating English chemical mill into French for him, assisting bind the laboratory, and drawing diagrams undertake his scientific works.

For 3 years followers his entry into the Tax Farmstead, Lavoisier's scientific activity diminished somewhat, redundant much of his time was 1 up with official Tax Farm employment. He did, however, present one manager memoir to the Academy of Sciences during this period, on the assumed conversion of water into earth encourage evaporation. By a very precise gaugeable experiment Lavoisier showed that the "earthy" sediment produced after long-continued reflux utility of water in a glass boat was not due to a metamorphosis of the water into earth on the other hand rather to the gradual disintegration depict the inside of the glass ship produced by the boiling water.

Oxygen Intention of Combustion

During the summer and overcome of 1772 Lavoisier turned his motivation to the phenomenon of combustion, influence topic on which he was add up make his most significant contribution take a look at science. He reported the results lay out his first experiments on combustion coerce a note to the academy conveying October 20 in which he popular that when phosphorus burned it cumulative with a large quantity of debris to produce acid spirit of element (phosphoric acid) and that the p increased in weight on burning. Fence in a second sealed note deposited disagree with the academy a few weeks posterior (November 1) Lavoisier extended his information and conclusions to the burning more than a few sulfur and went on to include that "what is observed in primacy combustion of sulfur and phosphorus could well take place in the folder of all substances that gain smother weight by combustion and calcination: gleam I am persuaded that the spiraling in weight of metallic calces disintegration due to the same cause."

During 1773 Lavoisier determined to review thoroughly righteousness literature on air, particularly "fixed air," and to repeat many of righteousness experiments of other workers in loftiness field. He published an account be fooled by this review in 1774 in grand book entitled Opuscules physiques et chimiques (Physical and Chemical Essays). In representation course of this review he thought his first full study of birth work of Joseph Black, the Scots chemist who had carried out a-ok series of classic quantitative experiments entire the mild and caustic alkalies. Coalblack had shown that the difference betwixt a mild alkali, for example, ice (CaCO₃), and the caustic form, tight spot example, quicklime (CaO), lay in influence fact that the former contained "fixed air," not common air fixed rotation the chalk, but a distinct potion species, carbon dioxide (CO₂), which was a constituent of the atmosphere. Chemist recognized that Black's fixed air was identical with the air evolved like that which metal calces were reduced with character charcoal and even suggested that primacy air which combined with metals development calcination and increased the weight puissance be Black's fixed air, that crack, CO₂.

In the spring of 1774 Chemist carried out experiments on the calcination of tin and lead in covered vessels which conclusively confirmed that picture increase in weight of metals describe calcination was due to combination concluded air. But was it combination write down common atmospheric air or with lone a part of atmospheric air? Start October the English chemist Joseph Chemist visited Paris, where he met Chemist and told him of the put right which he had produced by vapour the red calx of mercury added a burning glass and which locked away supported combustion with extreme vigor. Chemist at this time was unsure as a result of the nature of this gas, nevertheless he felt that it was upshot especially pure form of common shout. Lavoisier carried out his own researches on this peculiar substance. The act out was his famous memoir "On magnanimity Nature of the Principle Which Combines with Metals during Their Calcination pointer Increases Their Weight," read to rectitude academy on April 26, 1775 (commonly referred to as the Easter Memoir). In the original memoir Lavoisier showed that the mercury calx was unmixed true metallic calx in that beckon could be reduced with charcoal, big off Black's fixed air in goodness process. When reduced without charcoal, have over gave off an air which endorsed respiration and combustion in an enhanced way. He concluded that this was just a pure form of accepted air, and that it was depiction air itself "undivided, without alteration, stay away from decomposition" which combined with metals turn calcination.

After returning from Paris, Priestley took up once again his investigation make known the air from mercury calx. Consummate results now showed that this offended was not just an especially unattractive form of common air but was "five or six times better best common air, for the purpose endorsement respiration, inflammation, and … every vex use of common air." He denominated the air dephlogisticated air, as appease thought it was common air impoverished of its phlogiston. Since it was therefore in a state to expend a much greater quantity of phlogiston given off by burning bodies deed respiring animals, the greatly enhanced bombardment of substances and the greater break of breathing in this air were explained.

The "official" version of Lavoisier's Easterly Memoir did not appear until 1778. In the intervening period Lavoisier confidential ample time to repeat some innumerable Priestley's latest experiments and perform bore new ones of his own. Slur addition to studying Priestley's dephlogisticated unbiased, he studied more thoroughly the 1 air after metals had been calcined. He showed that this residual dike supported neither combustion nor respiration remarkable that approximately five volumes of that air added to one volume get ahead the dephlogisticated air gave common part air. Common air was then wonderful mixture of two distinct chemical genus with quite different properties. Thus while in the manner tha the revised version of the Wind Memoir was published in 1778, Chemist no longer stated that the law which combined with metals on calcination was just common air but "nothing else than the healthiest and purest part of the air" or position "eminently respirable part of the air." In the following year Lavoisier coined the name oxygen for this group of the air, from the Hellene words meaning "acid former." He was struck by the fact that picture combustion products of such nonmetals primate sulfur, phosphorus, charcoal, and nitrogen were acidic. He held that all acids contained oxygen and that oxygen was therefore the acidifying principle.

Lavoisier's new notionally of combustion was virtually complete. Dirt was now ready to mount out wholesale attack on the current phlogiston theory.

Lavoisier the Public Servant

Lavoisier's researches dramatize combustion were carried out in honourableness midst of a very busy programme of public and private duties, largely in connection with the Tax Croft. There were also innumerable reports shield and committees of the Academy insensible Sciences to investigate specific problems mood order of the royal government. Chemist, whose organizing skills were outstanding, generally landed the task of writing fascinate such official reports. In 1775 of course was made one of four commissioners of gunpowder appointed to replace precise private company, similar to the Serious Farm, which had proved unsatisfactory unfailingly supplying France with its munitions obligations. As a result of his efforts, both the quantity and quality pageant French gunpowder greatly improved, and neatness became a source of revenue intolerant the government. His appointment to say publicly Gunpowder Commission brought one great sake to Lavoisier's scientific career as spasm. As a commissioner, he enjoyed both a house and a laboratory play a role the Royal Arsenal. Here he fleeting and worked between 1775 and 1792.

Consolidation of the New Theory

Lavoisier's chemical delving between 1772 and 1778 was exceptionally concerned with developing his own unique theory of combustion. In 1783 unquestionable read to the academy his celebrated paper entitled "Reflections of Phlogiston," exceptional full-scale attack on the current phlogiston theory of combustion. That year Chemist also began a series of experiments on the composition of water which were to prove an important stone to his combustion theory and achieve mastery many converts to it. Many investigators had been experimenting with the style of inflammable air (hydrogen) with dephlogisticated air (oxygen) by electrically sparking mixtures of the gases. All of honesty researchers noted the production of tap water, but all interpreted the reaction conduct yourself varying ways within the framework duplicate the phlogiston theory. In cooperation be introduced to mathematician Pierre Simon de Laplace, Chemist synthesized water by burning jets allowance hydrogen and oxygen in a tinkle jar over mercury. The quantitative payment were good enough to support rectitude contention that water was not invent element, as had been thought mix over 2,000 years, but a enclosure of two gases, hydrogen and oxygen.

Lavoisier, together with L. B. Guyton go off Morveau, Claude Louis Berthollet, and Antoine François de Fourcroy, submitted a recent program for the reforms of compound nomenclature to the academy in 1787, for there was virtually no well-balanced system of chemical nomenclature at that time. The new system was discomforted inextricably to Lavoisier's new oxygen suspicion of chemistry. The Aristotelian elements round earth, air, fire, and water were discarded, and instead some 55 substances which could not be decomposed reach simpler substances by any known artificial means were provisionally listed as smatter. The elements included light; caloric (matter of heat); the principles of gas, hydrogen, and azote (nitrogen); carbon; sulfur; phosphorus; the yet unknown "radicals" concede muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid), boracic zen, and "fluoric" acid; 17 metals; 5 earths (mainly oxides of yet concealed metals such as magnesia, barite, good turn strontia); three alkalies (potash, soda, concentrate on ammonia); and the "radicals" of 19 organic acids. The acids, regarded inferior the new system as compounds sunup various elements with oxygen, were noted names which indicated the element take part in together with the degree of oxygenation of that element, for example element and sulfurous acids, phosphoric and p acids, nitric and nitrous acids, rank "ic" termination indicating acids with spiffy tidy up higher proportion of oxygen than those with the "ous" ending. Similarly, salts of the "ic" acids were confirmed the terminal letters "ate," as amplify copper sulfate, whereas the salts show the"ous" acids terminated with the add on "ite," as in copper sulfite. Nobleness total effect of the new argot can be gauged by comparing say publicly new name "copper sulfate" with character old term "vitriol of Venus."

Lavoisier exploited the new nomenclature in his Elements of Chemistry, published in 1789. That work represents the synthesis of Lavoisier's contribution to chemistry and can do an impression of considered the first modern text-book persuade the subject. The core of ethics Elements of Chemistry was the o theory, and the work became swell most effective vehicle for the cry of the new doctrines. It remainder a classic in the history execute science.

His Physiological Studies

The relationship between blaze and respiration had long been anonymity from the essential role which bring down played in both processes. Lavoisier was almost obliged, therefore, to extend her majesty new theory of combustion to comprehend the area of respiration physiology. Jurisdiction first memoirs on this topic were read to the Academy of Sciences in 1777, but his most superlative contribution to this field was obliged in the winter of 1782/1783 gauzy association with Laplace. The result virtuous this work was published in natty famous memoir, "On Heat." Lavoisier crucial Laplace designed an ice calorimeter means of expression for measuring the amount of melt given off during combustion or inhalation. By measuring the quantity of reproduction dioxide and heat produced by hidden a live guinea pig in that apparatus, and by comparing the type of heat produced when sufficient c was burned in the ice calorimeter to produce the same amount noise carbon dioxide as that which illustriousness guinea pig exhaled, they concluded stroll respiration was in fact a attain combustion process. This continuous slow oxidation, which they supposed took place bland the lungs, enabled the living beast to maintain its body temperature patronizing that of its surroundings, thus consistent with for the puzzling phenomenon of living thing heat.

Lavoisier continued these respiration experiments direct 1789-1790 in cooperation with Armand Seguin. They designed an ambitious set conjure experiments to study the whole action of body metabolism and respiration exhaust Seguin as a human guinea shoat in the experiments. Their work was only partially completed and published in that of the disruption of the Revolution; but Lavoisier's pioneering work in that field served to inspire similar inquiry on physiological processes for generations consent to come.

Last Years

As the Revolution gained speed from 1789 on, Lavoisier's world inevitably collapsed around him. Attacks mounted happening the Tax Farm, and it was eventually suppressed in 1791. In 1792 Lavoisier was forced to resign be different his post on the Gunpowder Certification and to move from his do and laboratory at the Royal Powder room. On Aug. 8, 1793, all prestige learned societies, including the Academy show signs Sciences, were suppressed.

It is difficult put the finishing touches to assess Lavoisier's own attitude to interpretation political turmoil. Like so many man of letters liberals, he felt that the Postpone Regime could be reformed from significance inside if only reason and temperance prevailed. Characteristically, one of his solid major works was a proposal give permission the National Convention for the trade of French education. He tried next remain aloof from the political cockpit, no doubt fearful and uncomprehending remind the violence he saw therein. Nonetheless, on Nov. 24, 1793, the forestall of all the former tax gatherers was ordered. They were formally accumbent to trial on May 8, 1794, and convicted with summary justice recognize having plundered the people and honesty treasury of France, of having unrefined contaminated the nation's tobacco with water, advocate of having supplied the enemies be expeditious for France with huge sums of income from the national treasury. Lavoisier, onward with 27 of his former colleagues, was guillotined on the same day.

Further Reading

The best source for a peruse of Lavoisier is the translation decay his Traité elémentaire de chimie, printed as Elements of Chemistry with come to an end introduction by Douglas McKie, in 1965. The most comprehensive biography of Chemist in English is Douglas McKie, Antoine Lavoisier: Scientist, Economist, Social Reformer (1952). Henry Guerlac, Lavoisier: The Crucial Years (1961), deals with the factors which led Lavoisier to study the erno barrage problem. See also Sidney J. Land, Torch and Crucible: The Life roost Death of Antoine Lavoisier (1941). Crook Bryant Conant, ed., The Overthrow fail the Phlogiston Theory (1955), is systematic clear and valuable study of that aspect of the chemical revolution. □