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e…laurent lavoisier。 born in 1743； lavoisierwas a member of the minor nobility （his father had purchased a title for the family）。 in 1768；he bought a practicing share in a deeply despised institution called the ferme g茅n茅rale （orgeneral farm）； which collected taxes and fees on behalf of the government。 althoughlavoisier himself was by all accounts mild and fair…minded； the pany he worked for wasneither。 for one thing； it did not tax the rich but only the poor； and then often arbitrarily。 forlavoisier； the appeal of the institution was that it provided him with the wealth to follow hisprincipal devotion； science。 at his peak； his personal earnings reached 150；000 livres a year鈥攑erhaps 20 million in today鈥檚 money。
three years after embarking on this lucrative career path； he married the fourteen…year…olddaughter of one of his bosses。 the marriage was a meeting of hearts and minds both。 madamelavoisier had an incisive intellect and soon was working productively alongside her husband。
despite the demands of his job and busy social life； they managed to put in five hours ofscience on most days鈥攖wo in the early morning and three in the evening鈥攁s well as thewhole of sunday； which they called their jour de bonheur （day of happiness）。 somehowlavoisier also found the time to be missioner of gunpowder； supervise the building of awall around paris to deter smugglers； help found the metric system； and coauthor thehandbook m茅thode de nomenclature chimique ； which became the bible for agreeing on thenames of the elements。
as a leading member of the acad茅mie royale des sciences； he was also required to take aninformed and active interest in whatever was topical鈥攈ypnotism； prison reform； therespiration of insects； the water supply of paris。 it was in such a capacity in 1780 thatlavoisier made some dismissive remarks about a new theory of bustion that had beensubmitted to the academy by a hopeful young scientist。 the theory was indeed wrong； but thescientist never forgave him。 his name was jean…paul marat。
the one thing lavoisier never did was discover an element。 at a time when it seemed as ifalmost anybody with a beaker； a flame； and some interesting powders could discover something new鈥攁nd when； not incidentally； some two…thirds of the elements were yet to befound鈥攍avoisier failed to uncover a single one。 it certainly wasn鈥檛 for want of beakers。
lavoisier had thirteen thousand of them in what was； to an almost preposterous degree； thefinest private laboratory in existence。
instead he took the discoveries of others and made sense of them。 he threw out phlogistonand mephitic airs。 he identified oxygen and hydrogen for what they were and gave them boththeir modern names。 in short； he helped to bring rigor； clarity； and method to chemistry。
and his fancy equipment did in fact e in very handy。 for years； he and madamelavoisier occupied themselves with extremely exacting studies requiring the finestmeasurements。 they determined； for instance； that a rusting object doesn鈥檛 lose weight； aseveryone had long assumed； but gains weight鈥攁n extraordinary discovery。 somehow as itrusted the object was attracting elemental particles from the air。 it was the first realization thatmatter can be transformed but not eliminated。 if you burned this book now； its matter wouldbe changed to ash and smoke； but the net amount of stuff in the universe would be the same。
this became known as the conservation of mass； and it was a revolutionary concept。
unfortunately； it coincided with another type of revolution鈥攖he french one鈥攁nd for this onelavoisier was entirely on the wrong side。
not only was he a member of the hated ferme g茅n茅rale； but he had enthusiastically builtthe wall that enclosed paris鈥攁n edifice so loathed that it was the first thing attacked by therebellious citizens。 capitalizing on this； in 1791 marat； now a leading voice in the nationalassembly； denounced lavoisier and suggested that it was well past time for his hanging。
soon afterward the ferme g茅n茅rale was shut down。 not long after this marat was murderedin his bath by an aggrieved young woman named charlotte corday； but by this time it was toolate for lavoisier。
in 1793； the reign of terror； already intense； ratcheted up to a higher gear。 in octobermarie antoinette was sent to the guillotine。 the following month； as lavoisier and his wifewere making tardy plans to slip away to scotland； lavoisier was arrested。 in may he andthirty…one fellow farmers…general were brought before the revolutionary tribunal （in acourtroom presided over by a bust of marat）。 eight were granted acquittals； but lavoisier andthe others were taken directly to the place de la revolution （now the place de la concorde）；site of the busiest of french guillotines。 lavoisier watched his father…in…law beheaded； thenstepped up and accepted his fate。 less than three months later； on july 27； robespierrehimself was dispatched in the same way and in the same place； and the reign of terrorswiftly ended。
a hundred years after his death； a statue of lavoisier was erected in paris and muchadmired until someone pointed out that it looked nothing like him。 under questioning thesculptor admitted that he had used the head of the mathematician and philosopher the marquisde condorcet鈥攁pparently he had a spare鈥攊n the hope that no one would notice or； havingnoticed； would care。 in the second regard he was correct。 the statue of lavoisier…cum…condorcet was allowed to remain in place for another half century until the second worldwar when； one morning； it was taken away and melted down for scrap。
in the early 1800s there arose in england a fashion for inhaling nitrous oxide； or laughinggas； after it was discovered that its use 鈥渨as attended by a highly pleasurable thrilling。鈥潯or the next half century it would be the drug of choice for young people。 one learned body； theaskesian society； was for a time devoted to little else。 theaters put on 鈥渓aughing gasevenings鈥潯here volunteers could refresh themselves with a robust inhalation and thenentertain the audience with their ical staggerings。
it wasn鈥檛 until 1846 that anyone got around to finding a practical use fo