phlogiston theory

Home > ... > Science and Technology > Chemistry > Chemistry: General > ...

Essential reading Compare
side-by-side The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition

phlogiston theory

phlogiston theory , hypothesis regarding combustion. The theory, advanced by J. J. Becher late in the 17th cent. and extended and popularized by G. E. Stahl, postulates that in all flammable materials there is present phlogiston, a substance without color, odor, taste, or weight that is given off in burning. "Phlogisticated" substances are those that contain phlogiston and, on being burned, are "dephlogisticated." The ash of the burned material is held to be the true material. The theory received strong and wide support throughout a large part of the 18th cent. until it was refuted by the work of A. L. Lavoisier, who revealed the true nature of combustion. Joseph Priestley, however, defended the theory throughout his lifetime. Henry Cavendish remained doubtful, but most other chemists of the period, including C. L. Berthollet, rejected it.

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1E1-phlogist" title="Facts and information about phlogiston theory">phlogiston theory</a>

Give this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"phlogiston theory." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 23 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"phlogiston theory." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (December 23, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-phlogist.html

"phlogiston theory." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved December 23, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-phlogist.html

Learn more about citation styles

phlogiston

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Â© The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable 2006, originally published by Oxford University Press 2006. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

phlogiston a substance supposed by 18th-century chemists to exist in all combustible bodies, and to be released in combustion. The phlogiston theory was discredited when Antoine Lavoisier showed the true nature of oxygen.

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1O214-phlogiston" title="Facts and information about phlogiston theory">phlogiston theory</a>

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "phlogiston." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 23 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "phlogiston." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (December 23, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-phlogiston.html

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "phlogiston." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press. 2006. Retrieved December 23, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-phlogiston.html

Learn more about citation styles

Free newspaper and magazine articles

	On the origin of the dark matter/energy in the universe and the pioneer anomaly. Magazine article from: Progress in Physics; 7/1/2008
	Discounting chickens. (editorial) Magazine article from: National Review; 9/9/1991
	Pay attention now, technically challenged readers.(methods of information transmission)(Brief Article) Magazine article from: National Review; 12/31/2005

Facts and information from other sites

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, and more

	Echoes of phlogiston in stem cell biology. Newspaper article from: NewsRx Health; 10/11/2009; 700+ words ; ...of a mysterious substance, which they named "phlogiston". Phlogiston theory was a conceptual breakthrough that helped chemists...pinning down the distinctive physical properties of phlogiston did it become clear that no such thing exists...
	Mental illness: Psychiatry's phlogiston Magazine article from: Ideas on Liberty; 11/1/2001; ; 700+ words ; ...illness is to psychiatry as phlogiston was to chemistry. Establishing...acknowledge the nonexistence of phlogiston. Similarly, establishing...not have one set of medical theories to explain normal bodily...combustion better than does phlogiston, a nonexistent, imaginary...According to psychiatric ...
	Another daft theory goes up in flames Newspaper article from: The Sunday Telegraph London; 10/27/2002; ; 700+ words ; ...substances such as wood contained "phlogiston", a substance supposedly released...Lavoisier was convincing many that phlogiston was the purest nonsense. In...hard numbers. Supporters of the phlogiston theory claimed that combustion led to...
	The temple of theory Magazine article from: et Cetera; 4/1/2002; ; 700+ words ; ...inscription: "The Temple of Theory - Abandon All Concreteness...in the center, entitled "Theories of the 14th Century." There...panels, were many now obscure theories like the Phlogiston Theory, beautifully illustrated...
	The Temple of Theory. (Metaphors in Action). Magazine article from: ETC.: A Review of General Semantics; 3/22/2002; ; 700+ words ; ...inscription: "The Temple of Theory -- Abandon All Concreteness...in the center, entitled "Theories of the 14th Century." There...panels, were many now obscure theories like the Phlogiston Theory, beautifully illustrated...
	Flawed theories throughout history Newspaper article from: Express & Echo (Exeter UK); 5/14/2007; 375 words ; ...is quite small - man- made. History tells us that the popularity of a theory is no proof that it is correct, for example the phlogiston theory, the centre Earth theory and the flat Earth theory. All had virtually maximum following in their...
	HIV/AIDS and beyond.(The Origin, Persistence and Failings of HIV/AIDS Theory)(Book review) Magazine article from: Quadrant; 7/1/2007; ; 700+ words ; ...and Failings of HIV/AIDS Theory, by Henry H. Bauer; McFarland...with the accepted HIV/AIDS theory. It is worth noting that...established and universally accepted theories, and he cites important examples...of ulcer formation to the phlogiston theory of combustion, from modern...
	Cold fusion theory frozen out by facts Newspaper article from: Chicago Sun-Times; 5/14/1989; ; 700+ words ; Cold fusion is just about as dead as the phlogiston theory of fire and Lysenko's political genetics; even its...by an unwillingness to rethink the problems of fusion. Theories come and go with fair regularity, and every experimentalist...
	Revolutions and gunpowder: Antoine Lavoisier. Magazine article from: Chemistry and Industry; 5/2/1994; ; 700+ words ; ...credited with the rejection of the phlogiston theory, placing the study of gases...apparatus no residue remained. Phlogiston Lavoisier was no less a revolutionary...His most famous victim was phlogiston. This was a contradiction...
	When words won't die: a dispiriting proposal. (Special Subsection: Religious vs. Secular Humanism). Newspaper article from: Free Inquiry; 6/22/2002; ; 700+ words ; ...itself alive by extraordinary measures. Phlogiston was held to be the mysterious "principle...types of oxidation (1770-1790), phlogiston theory was discredited. A word without a referent, phlogiston did what too few such words do: it...