During the era of Antoine Laurent de Lavoisier, the belief that “Water can turn into soil” was widely accepted. Some chemists heated water, ultimately resulting in a white sediment, which they referred to as “soil produced from water.”
Lavoisier rejected this notion, arguing that water and soil are fundamentally different substances—how could soil arise from water?
He pondered: If water cannot turn into soil, then what explains the white sediment that appears after boiling water? The only way to find out was to conduct an experiment himself.
Lavoisier carefully measured the weight of the water used for the experiment and the weight of the distillation flask. He then sealed the flask tightly and began heating the water.
Throughout the boiling process, Lavoisier continuously observed whether the substance that people referred to as “soil” would appear in the flask. After several days of continuous boiling, the water in the flask bubbled vigorously, yet no substance appeared.
Lavoisier was a determined individual who refused to give up; he was resolved to continue until the flask yielded “soil.” He boiled the water for ten consecutive days. One afternoon, after finishing his meal, he hurried to check the flask, and to his delight, the moment he had been waiting for had arrived—the white sediment had appeared at the bottom of the flask. The question of whether water could turn into soil was about to be clarified.
Lavoisier cooled the water, then carefully filtered it into another flask. He quickly weighed it to determine the weight of the water after ten days of continuous boiling. The results indicated that the weight of the water before and after boiling was essentially unchanged.
Thus, it could be asserted: “Soil does not arise from water.” Lavoisier closely examined the white sediment—where could it have come from?
As if a thought had struck him, he checked the weight of the flask used in the experiment. The results showed that the flask had lost weight. Lavoisier was thrilled; he could now reveal the truth behind the so-called “water producing soil.” He held his breath and weighed the white sediment; its weight matched the weight lost by the flask containing the water.
Lavoisier’s face flushed with excitement. Everything became clear: the so-called “soil produced from water” did not come from the water at all, but rather from the glass flask used in the experiment! The white sediment was formed by the glass being heated and corroded. Thus, the myth of “water turning into soil” was dispelled.
“Do not rely on assumptions, but rather on reality”
— Antoine Laurent de Lavoisier —
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