Antoine Laurent Lavoisier
The Man who Took Something and Made it Better
The Birth of it All
When Science Came Knocking
Trials and Trebulations
The Result of Hard Work
Lavoisier did not receive a medal, but a medal was named after him. A Lavoisier Medal is an award for achievements in chemical related works. Lavoisier Medal are issued by French Chemical Society and International Society for Biological Calorimetric. The Lavoisier Medal is awarded to an internationally acknowledged scientist for an outstanding contribution to the development of direct calorimetry in biology and or medicine. The Lavoisier Medal for Technical Achievement is presented to DuPont scientists and engineers who have made outstanding contributions to DuPont and their scientific fields throughout their careers. Antoine Lavoisier mentored the founder of the company for more than 200 years ago
The Father of Modern Chemistry
Lavoisier believed that weight was conserved through the course of chemical reactions. He explained combustion in terms of chemical reactions that involve a component of air, Oxygen. An example of this would be H2O hydrogen atoms in a H molecule can combine with oxygen atoms in an O molecule to form H2O. But the number of hydrogen and oxygen atoms before and after the reaction is the same. The total mass of the products of a reaction therefore must be the same as the total mass of the reactants.
In the early stages of his research Lavoisier thought that the phlogiston theory as a useful hypothesis. He tried to find ways to prove the theory right. He wanted to prove it on an experimental foundation. Or he thought he could just replace it with an experimental theory of combustion. At the end of his efforts, his theory of oxygenation replaced the phlogiston theory. But it did take him many years and help from others to reach this goal.
Websites and Citations
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