Antoine Lavoisier
Father of modern chemistry, named oxygen and hydrogen
Quotes by Antoine Lavoisier
Every substance has its affinities.
Reflection is the lamp of the mind.
We must trust to nothing but facts: these are presented to us by nature, and cannot deceive. We ought, in every instance, to submit our reasoning to the test of experiment.
It is impossible to make an exact analysis of the air without having first made a complete analysis of water.
Chemistry, like all other sciences, is founded on experiment.
The importance of a new theory is not to be measured by the number of facts it explains, but by the number of new facts it predicts.
We may lay it down as an incontestable axiom, that, in all the operations of art and nature, nothing is created; an equal quantity of matter exists both before and after the experiment.
This conservation of matter, which we have just demonstrated, is one of the most important and fruitful principles of chemistry.
It is not enough to know the properties of bodies; we must also know their composition.
The nomenclature of chemistry, if it is to be perfect, must be a true picture of the science.
The only way to make progress in science is to abandon old ideas when they are no longer supported by facts.
We must consider as a general principle that in all chemical operations, the weight of the substances before and after the operation remains the same.
The art of drawing conclusions from experiments and observations consists in knowing how to appreciate the degree of probability of the different hypotheses which can be formed.
The object of chemistry is to resolve compound bodies into their constituent parts, and to combine these parts together again.
It is impossible to make a perfect analysis of any substance without having first made a perfect synthesis of it.
The most important thing in science is to ask the right questions.
The balance is the instrument which has contributed most to the progress of chemistry.
We must not multiply entities beyond necessity.
The new chemical nomenclature, which we have adopted, is a true philosophical language.
It is by experiment that we must decide between two theories.