Lavoisier

[ la-vwa-zyey ]

noun

1. An·toine Lau·rent [ah, n, -, twan, loh-, rahn], 1743–94, French scientist: pioneer in the field of chemistry.

Lavoisier

/ lavwazje /

noun

1. LavoisierAntoine Laurent17431794MFrenchSCIENCE: chemist Antoine Laurent (ɑ̃twan lɔrɑ̃). 1743–94, French chemist; one of the founders of modern chemistry. He disproved the phlogiston theory, named oxygen, and discovered its importance in respiration and combustion

Lavoisier

/ lä-vwä-zyā′ /

1. French chemist who is regarded as one of the founders of modern chemistry. In 1778 he discovered that air consists of a mixture of two gases, which he called oxygen and nitrogen. Lavoisier also discovered the law of conservation of mass and devised the modern method of naming chemical compounds. His wife Marie (1758–1836) assisted him with his laboratory work and translated a number of important chemistry texts.

Biography

Antoine Lavoisier's superior organizational skills made it possible for him to interpret and extend the research of other scientists, leading to the important experiments and discoveries that designate him as one of the founders of modern chemistry. He introduced a rigorous experimental approach to the field based on the determination of the weights of reagents and products in chemical reactions. In his Elementary Treatise of Chemistry, published in 1789, he presented a systematic and unified view of new theories and established a system of nomenclature for chemical compounds. His classification of substances laid the foundation for the modern distinction between chemicals and compounds. Lavoisier also disproved the longstanding phlogiston theory of combustion, which for centuries held that a substance called phlogiston, a volatile part of all combustible substances, was released during the process of combustion. By repeating the experiments of Joseph Priestley, Lavoisier demonstrated that during combustion the burning substance combines with a constituent of the air, the gas he named oxygen. He also described the role of oxygen in the respiration of both animals and plants, and he proved that water is made up of oxygen and hydrogen.

Example Sentences

Readers may have heard of Mozart, but they’re less likely to be familiar with the French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, the English spy Edward Bancroft or the book’s colorful villain, Count Alessandro Cagliostro.

From New York Times

It depicts Antoine Lavoisier with his wife and collaborator, Marie-Anne, and several items related to his scientific discoveries.

From Washington Post

Naturally, in 1790, Antoine Lavoisier, caught up in the midst of the French Revolution, declared that he was making a revolution in chemistry.

From Literature

Eighteenth-century chemist Antoine Lavoisier, for instance, named oxygen to signify ‘acid-former’, only to have the word construed as ‘‘the son of a vinegar merchant”.

From Nature

“Lavoisier laid the basis for the formulation for the law of the conservation of matter. For 10 points, who is said to have formulated the law of mass and energy?”

From Washington Post