phlogiston

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Hence, Charles Darwin is a household name, but few know of Georg Ernst Stahl, promoter of the long-discredited phlogiston theory of chemistry.

From Salon • Aug. 19, 2019

Heliocentrism beats geocentrism, oxidation-reduction chemistry beats phlogiston, Einstein over Newton, plate tectonics, etc.

From Scientific American • Jun. 4, 2017

Chemistry would not have improved much since Lavoisier's youth if chemists were still loosely calling all combustible materials phlogiston.

From Time Magazine Archive

One day we may discover that some of our most cherished forms of knowledge are as obsolete as epicycles, phlogiston, caloric, the electromagnetic aether and, indeed, Newtonian physics.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Metallizable earths, commonly called ores, when united to phlogiston, make the metals, distinguishable for their specific gravity, their opacity, shining appearance, and fusibility.

From Heads of Lectures on a Course of Experimental Philosophy: Particularly Including Chemistry by Priestley, Joseph