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Phlogiston theory
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Look up <i>phlogiston</i> in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. <p>The phlogiston theory, a <a href="/facts/Superseded_scientific_theories/VIB7wxdE"> superseded scientific theory</a>, postulated the existence of a fire-like <a href="/facts/Chemical_element/0jducgWD"> element</a> dubbed phlogiston contained within combustible bodies and released during <a href="/facts/Combustion/ohQoWj8z">combustion</a>. The name comes from the <a href="/facts/Ancient_Greek/LIK7NlUh">Ancient Greek</a> φλογιστόν <i>phlogistón</i> (<i>burning up</i>), from φλόξ <i>phlóx</i> (<i>flame</i>). The idea of a phlogistic substance was first proposed in 1667 by <a href="/facts/J._J._Becher/GagvkMaV"> Johann Joachim Becher</a> and later put together more formally in 1697 by <a href="/facts/Georg_Ernst_Stahl/T1RTnF97">Georg Ernst Stahl</a>. Phlogiston theory attempted to explain chemical processes such as <a href="/facts/Combustion/ohQoWj8z">combustion</a> and <a href="/facts/Rust/sajUmaz8">rusting</a>, now collectively known as <a href="/facts/Redox/Pyd5RVcj"> oxidation</a>. The theory was challenged by the concomitant weight increase and was abandoned before the end of the 18th century following experiments by <a href="/facts/Antoine_Lavoisier/UheVQrhu">Antoine Lavoisier</a> in the 1770s and by other scientists. Phlogiston theory led to experiments that ultimately resulted in the identification (c. 1771), and naming (1777), of <a href="/facts/Oxygen/acyn6o8r">oxygen</a> by <a href="/facts/Joseph_Priestley/hQGV26wA">Joseph Priestley</a> and <a href="/facts/Antoine_Lavoisier/UheVQrhu">Antoine Lavoisier</a>, respectively. </p>