During the era of Antoine Laurent de Lavoisier, the notion that “Water can turn into earth” was widely accepted. Some chemists used heating methods, boiling water to ultimately obtain a white precipitate, which they referred to as “earth transformed from water.”
Antoine rejected this concept, asserting that water and earth are two distinct types of matter; how could earth possibly arise from water?
He pondered: If water cannot turn into earth, what then can explain the white precipitate formed after boiling water? The only solution was to conduct an experiment himself.
Antoine measured the weight of the water used for the experiment and the weight of the distillation flask, then sealed the flask tightly and began to heat the water.
Throughout the boiling process, Antoine closely monitored the flask to see if the substance referred to as “earth” would appear. He boiled the water continuously for several days, and although the water was bubbling vigorously, no substance appeared in the flask.
Antoine was an undaunted worker; he was determined to continue until the flask contained “earth.” He boiled the water for a full 10 days. That afternoon, after finishing his meal, he hurried to the boiling station, and upon peering into the flask, he was overjoyed to find what he had been waiting for—the white precipitate had appeared at the bottom of the flask. The question of whether water could transform into earth would soon be clarified.
Antoine cooled the water and carefully filtered it into another flask, quickly weighing it to determine the weight of the water after 10 days of continuous boiling. The results indicated that the weight of the water before and after boiling remained largely unchanged.
Thus, it could be confirmed: “Earth does not arise from water.” Antoine focused intently on the white precipitate; where could it have come from?
As if realizing something, he weighed the empty flask used for the experiment. The results indicated that the flask had indeed become lighter. Antoine was deeply moved; he was about to expose the truth behind the so-called “water giving rise to earth.” He took a deep breath and weighed the white precipitate; its weight matched the weight lost by the water flask.
Antoine’s face flushed with excitement. Everything was clear now; the so-called “earth born from water” did not originate from water at all but rather from the glass flask used in the experiment! The white precipitate was formed by the heated glass being corroded. From that point on, the myth of “water turning into earth” was debunked.
“Do not rely on conjecture but base your conclusions on reality”
— Antoine Laurent de Lavoisier —
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