Antoine Lavoisier
Father of modern chemistry, named oxygen and hydrogen
Quotes by Antoine Lavoisier
My experiments are designed to isolate and identify the fundamental components of matter.
The progress of science is a collective effort, built upon the work of many individuals.
I find solace and inspiration in the order and regularity of the natural world.
The application of mathematics to chemistry will unlock new insights into the nature of matter.
Chemistry, in its present state, is a science of facts, and not of reasoning.
It is impossible to make any progress in the investigation of nature without the aid of experiment.
The art of drawing conclusions from experiments and observations consists in knowing how to derive general truths from particular facts.
We must consider as a general axiom that in all operations of art and nature, nothing is created; an equal quantity of matter exists both before and after the experiment.
It is not enough to know the properties of bodies; we must also know how to combine them, and how to separate them.
The progress of physical science is marked by the substitution of more and more general laws for less general ones.
The more we learn, the more we are convinced that the number of simple substances is very small.
The object of chemistry is to decompose bodies, to examine their constituent parts, and to recombine them.
It is by means of experiment that we interrogate nature, and it is by means of experiment that she answers us.
The science of chemistry is founded on experiment and observation.
We must distinguish carefully between what is certain and what is only probable.
The language of chemistry should be as precise as that of mathematics.
The true method of studying chemistry is to begin with the simplest substances, and to proceed gradually to the most complex.
The human mind, when it is not guided by experiment, is apt to lose itself in vague and uncertain speculations.
The more we advance in the knowledge of nature, the more we are convinced that everything is connected.
It is by the balance alone that we can determine the true nature of chemical reactions.