BULLETIN FOR THE HISTORY OF CHEMISTRY
Volume 51, 2026
Lewis, David E., “The Law of Conservation of Matter: Lomonosov and Lavoisier,” Bull. Hist. Chem., 2026, 51, 99-113.
https://doi.org/10.70359/bhc2026v051p099
ONLY HIST MEMBERS AND SUBSCRIBERS CAN ACCESS THIS FILE
Abstract/Description: The Law of the Conservation of Matter had its origins in the Jain philosophy of ancient India, and was then embraced by the Greek philosophers, among whom are numbered Parmenides of Elea, Empedocles and Epicurus. The scientific basis of the Law was spurred by the study of gases, initiated by van Helmont, and followed by Stahl's phlogiston theory of combustion. The next major advances came as combustion became the focus of many chemists, gradually leading to the overthrow of phlogiston and Lavoisier's establishment of oxidation. The question of Lomonosov's contribution and the polemics of the 1960s are addressed.