phlogiston
Debunked fire substance
Phlogiston was a substance once believed to exist in all combustible materials and to be released during burning.
The theory, dominant in 17th- and 18th-century chemistry, explained why things lost weight when burned—the phlogiston had escaped.
The discovery of oxygen rendered the concept obsolete, making phlogiston a byword for discredited scientific ideas: a phlogiston theory of economics.
Combustion in progress
- flameBurning gas made visible
- ignitionStarting combustion process
- fuelEnergy source material
- inflammableAble to catch fire
flammable · charring · soot · ash · carbonization · incineration · smoldering · pyrolysis
Complete change of form
- philosopher's stoneLegendary substance enabling transmutation
- hermeticismAirtight, impervious condition
- alchemistsSeekers of elemental transformation
- elixirMythical healing draught
calcination · sublimation · distillation · alembic · tincture · arcanum · coagulation · alchemical
Proven unworthy of trust
- refutedProved an argument false
- disprovenShown by evidence false
- falsifiedMade deliberately inaccurate
- supersededReplaced by something newer
Lavoisier · misconception · obsolete · antiquated · outmoded · erroneous · pseudoscience · fallacious
Relating to heat units
- principleFundamental truth or standard
- combustibleCapable of burning
- elementalBasic, of natural forces
- inflammabilityAbility to catch fire
chemical element · empirical · eighteenth century · natural philosophy · theoretical
burning
Combustion in progress
inflammable · flammable · charring · soot · ash · carbonization · incineration · smoldering · pyrolysis · fire
transmutation
Complete change of form
- philosopher's stoneLegendary substance enabling transmutation
- hermeticismAirtight, impervious condition
- alchemistsSeekers of elemental transformation
elixir · calcination · sublimation · distillation · alembic · tincture · arcanum · coagulation · alchemical · hieroglyphic
discredited
Proven unworthy of trust
- refutedProved an argument false
- disprovenShown by evidence false
- falsifiedMade deliberately inaccurate
superseded · Lavoisier · misconception · obsolete · antiquated · outmoded · erroneous · pseudoscience · fallacious · invalidated
caloric
Relating to heat units
- principleFundamental truth or standard
- combustibleCapable of burning
- elementalBasic, of natural forces
inflammability · chemical element · empirical · eighteenth century · natural philosophy · theoretical