| TRANSMUTATION
In 1771, chemists still believed it was possible to transmute one
element to another.
In his lectures, Roselle, Lavoisier's teacher said, "Ordinary chemists doubt the truth of the principles of this
science, but they cannot be judges in a matter entirely unknown to them(...). Although I do not
wish to cast doubt on the testimony of great men who affirm that they have seen transmutations,
I would like to see for myself before shedding my remaining reservations."
Bengt Ferner, a Swiss scientist observed steady lowering of the levels of the oceans. He believed this was
because water was being changed to Earth. Many other scientists believed his theory as well.
Replica of Lavoisier's laboratory
Lavoisier tested the myth of transmutation of water to earth in one of his early experiments. He boiled water for a hundred days in a "pelican", a glass container whose shape resembles the bird's beak. Lavoisier showed that the debris was not due to a transmutation of water but because the dissolving of the pelican's inner surface. Lavoisier came to this conclusion, by weighting all elements before and after the experiment.
|
Transmutation