When it was first proposed, it was the "fat" type of three types of earth that together replaced one of the four main elements, a theory put forth in the 1669 work Subterranean Physics by Johann Becher.
When it was first proposed, it was the "fat" type of three types of earth that together replaced one of the four main elements, a theory put forth in the 1669 work Subterranean Physics by Johann Becher. Early in the 18th century, one of Becher's students expounded on the theory and gave this substance its more common name. According to that student, Georg Ernst Stahl, it was one of the products of corrosion along with calx, (*) known today as a metal's oxide. Its existence was defended until the beginning of the 19th century by some chemists, including Joseph Priestley, even after being discredited by Antoine Lavoisier. FTP, name this theoretical substance that was thought to explain why wood gets heavier after combustion.
When it was first proposed, it was the "fat" type of three types of earth that together replaced one of the four main elements, a theory put forth in the 1669 work Subterranean Physics by Johann Becher.
phlogiston