Elements of Chemistry

ThedebtofmodernchemistrytoAntoineLavoisier(1743–1794)isincalculable.WithLavoisier'sdiscoveriesofthecompositionsofairandwater(hegavetheworldtheterm'oxygen')andhisanalysisoftheprocessofcombustion，hewasabletoburyonceandforallthethenprevalentphlogistondoctrine.Healsorecognizedchemicalelementsastheultimateresiduesofchemicalanalysisand，withothers，workedoutthebeginningsofthemodernsystemofnomenclature.HisprematuredeathatthehandsofaRevolutionarytribunalisundoubtedlyoneofthesaddestlossesinthehistoryofscience.
Lavoisier'stheorieswerepromulgatedwidelybyaworkhepublishedin1789：TraitéélémentairedeChimie.ThefamousEnglishtranslationbyRobertKerrwasissuedayearlater.Incorporatingthenotionsofthe"newchemistry，"thebookcarefullydescribestheexperimentsandreasoningwhichledLavoisiertohisconclusions，conclusionswhichweregenerallyacceptedbythescientificcommunityalmostimmediately.ItisnottoomuchtoclaimthatLavoisier'sTraitédidforchemistrywhatNewton'sPrincipiadidforphysics，andthatLavoisierfoundedmodernchemistry.
PartOneoftheTraitécoversthecompositionoftheatmosphereandwater，andrelatedexperiments，oneofwhich(onvinousfermentation)permitsLavoisiertomakethefirstexplicitstatementofthelawoftheconservationofmatterinchemicalchange.Thesecondpartdealswiththecompoundsofacidswithvariousbases，givingextensivetablesofcompounds.Itsmostsignificantitem，however，isthetableofsimplesubstancesorelements—thefirstmodernlistofthechemicalelements.Thethirdsectionofthebookreviewsinminutedetailtheapparatusandinstrumentsofchemistryandtheiruses.Someoftheseinstruments，etc.areillustratedinthesectionofplatesattheend.
ThisnewfacsimileeditionisenhancedbyanintroductoryessaybyDouglasMcKie，UniversityCollegeLondon，oneoftheworld'smosteminenthistoriansofscience.Prof.McKiegivesanexcellentsurveyofhistoricaldevelopmentsinchemistryleadinguptotheTraité，Lavoisier'smajorcontributions，hisworkinotherfields，andoffersacriticalevaluationoftheimportanceofthisbookandLavoisier'sroleinthehistoryofchemistry.Thisnewessayhelpstomakethisanauthoritative，contemporaryEnglish-languageeditionofoneofthesupremeclassicsofscience.