Theory & Balance Sheets
From WikidChem
[edit]Slide 7
In order for Lavoisier to analyze sugars, he resorted to fermentation. Analysis by combustion (oxidation by oxygen) would not work for sugars because they end up charring instead of completely burning. A quote from his "Elementary Treatise of Chemistry" states how he would alter his experimental data by calculation and alter his calculations by experiment.
[edit]Slides 8, 9, 10
These slides show Lavoisier's balance sheets from his "experiments". The balances are suspiciously perfect for any laboratory conditions. Obviously, Lavoisier was altering his data to fit calculations that he performed. The starting materials matched the final products, in which different forms of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen were accounted for. Lavoisier assumed conservation of mass, and tweaked his experimental numbers accordingly to match his theory and calculations.
