It is probable that this essential attachment to the steam boiler had previously been used for other purposes; but Papin is given the credit of having first made use of it to control the pressure of steam. In 1787, Antoine Lavoisier, in his Elements of Chemistry, refers to "Papin's digester" as an example of an environment where high pressure prevents evaporation when he explains that the pressure caused by evaporation of fluid prevents further evaporation.