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Webster 1828 Edition
Phlogiston
PHLOGIS'TON
,Noun.
The principle of inflammability; the matter of fire in composition with other bodies. Stahl gave this name to an element which he supposed to be pure fire fixed in combustible bodies, in order to distinguish it from fire in action or in a state of liberty. But the theory has been proved to be false and is generally abandoned.
Definition 2024
Phlogiston
phlogiston
phlogiston
See also: Phlogiston
English
Noun
phlogiston (usually uncountable, plural phlogistons)
- (chemistry, historical) The hypothetical fiery principle formerly assumed to be a necessary constituent of combustible bodies and to be given up by them in burning.
- 2006, Philip Ball, The Devil's Doctor, Arrow 2007, page 397:
- Stahl argued that phlogiston could explain combustion, a central concern of eighteenth-century chemistry.
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Derived terms
Derived terms
Translations
hypothetical fiery principle
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