Definition of elements and fermentation findings
- When
- 1789
- Where
- content of the 1789 treatise
The book defines an element as a substance not decomposable by chemical analysis and reports that fermentation yields carbonic gas and spirit of wine, or alcohol.
Traité élémentaire de chimie defines an element as a single substance that cannot be broken down by chemical analysis and from which all chemical compounds are formed. It also publishes Lavoisier's discovery that fermentation produces carbon dioxide (carbonic gas) and spirit of wine, which he argued was more appropriately called by the Arabic word alcohol, since it is formed from cider or fermented sugar as well as wine.
Sources
- Traité Élémentaire de Chimie Wikipedia, revision of 2026-05-14
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.