Kara Sears
The Law of Conservation of Mass, also known as the Law of Conservation of Matter, was formulated by French chemist Antoine Lavoisier in 1789. The law states that mass is neither created nor destroyed in chemical reactions, only rearranged. This means that the mass of an element at the beginning of a reaction will equal the mass of that element at the end of the reaction. This concept laid the foundation for modern chemistry and revolutionized science. While the law has been challenged by the advent of special relativity, it remains an important principle in chemistry and science more broadly.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Antoine Lavoisier |
| Nationality | French |
| Profession | Chemist |
| Date of discovery | 1789 |
| Law | Mass is neither created nor destroyed in chemical reactions |
| Law application | Applicable to closed systems |
| Law exception | Open systems, nuclear reactions, and systems with large gravitational fields |
| Influence | Helped turn chemistry into a respectable science |
| Ancient philosophy | "Nothing comes from nothing" |
| Ancient proponents | Empedocles, Epicurus, Hero of Alexandria, Jain philosophy |
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What You'll Learn
Ancient Greek philosophy and the concept of nothing comes from nothing
The concept of nothingness has been a matter of philosophical debate since at least the 5th century BCE. One of the earliest Western philosophers to consider nothing as a concept was Parmenides, a Greek philosopher of the monist school. Parmenides argued that "nothing" cannot exist because to speak of a thing, one must speak of a thing that exists. This line of reasoning led him to conclude that there is no such thing as change, and therefore, no such thing as coming-into-being or passing-out-of-being.
This idea was further developed by Leucippus, an atomist philosopher who also lived in the early 5th century BCE. Leucippus accepted the monist position that there could be no motion without a void, or nothingness. He believed that there exists something called an absolute plenum, a space filled with matter, and that there can be no motion in a plenum because it is completely full. However, he also believed that there are multiple plenums and that these are the invisibly small "atoms" of Greek atomist theory, later expanded upon by Democritus. This allowed for the void, or nothingness, to "exist" between the atoms.
Another expression of the concept of nothingness in ancient Greek philosophy is found in the works of Empedocles (c. 4th century BCE). Empedocles explicitly stated that it is impossible for anything to come from nothing and that it is equally impossible for something that exists to be utterly destroyed. A similar principle of conservation was stated by Epicurus around the 3rd century BCE, who wrote that "the totality of things was always such as it is now, and always will be".
The idea that "nothing comes from nothing" was also found in ancient near eastern cosmology and early Greek cosmology, such as in the works of Homer and Hesiod. This notion, known as creatio ex materia, holds that the universe was formed from eternal, pre-existing matter, as opposed to creatio ex nihilo, which asserts that the universe was created out of nothing. Creatio ex materia was widely accepted by Greek philosophers, who believed that creation acted on eternally existing, uncreated matter. This belief is also reflected in Jain philosophy, a non-creationist philosophy dating back to 520 BCE, which states that matter cannot be created or destroyed.
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The work of Empedocles and Epicurus
Empedocles (c. 494 – c. 434 BC), a Greek pre-Socratic philosopher, is known for his cosmogonic theory of the four classical elements: fire, air, water, and earth. He believed that these four elements were simple, eternal, and unalterable, and that change resulted from their mixture and separation. Empedocles proposed that two divine powers, Love and Strife, were responsible for bringing the elements together and separating them. This theory of the four elements became the standard dogma for the next two thousand years.
Empedocles also had a form of the law of conservation of energy and a theory of constant proportions in chemical reactions. He believed that nothing new could come into being, and that the only change that could occur was a change in the juxtaposition of elements. In other words, matter could neither be created nor destroyed, only transformed.
Epicurus and his followers built on the atomist tradition of Leucippus and Democritus, believing that all matter consisted of atoms. They conceived of atoms as discrete, solid, and indivisible particles, or "minima," that were below the threshold of perception. These atoms were complemented by empty space, or "void," which was necessary for bodily movement.
Epicurus distinguished between the atom, which cannot be broken apart, and the minimum conceivable expanse of matter. He argued that atoms have such minima as parts but are not themselves minima, allowing for different shapes and sizes. This resolved the problem of atomic edges and provided a foundation for understanding compounds.
The Epicurean position on matter exhibited the principle of conservation: matter can neither vanish nor be created out of nothing. This idea offered a corollary to universal mortality, suggesting that things must perish and disintegrate to recycle their matter for new creations.
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The experiments of Antoine Lavoisier
Antoine Lavoisier was a French nobleman and chemist who played a central role in the 18th-century chemical revolution. His experiments supported the law of conservation of mass, which states that mass is neither created nor destroyed in chemical reactions. In other words, the mass of any one element at the beginning of a reaction will equal the mass of that element at the end of the reaction.
Lavoisier's experiments were characterised by his systematic determination of the weights of reagents and products involved in chemical reactions, including gaseous components. He believed that matter, identified by weight, would be conserved through any reaction. This method led to his discovery of the role of oxygen in combustion, opposing the prior phlogiston theory. He recognised oxygen as an element in 1778 and named it based on his theory that it was the acidifying principle. He also recognised hydrogen as an element in 1783.
Lavoisier's experiments were largely performed in closed systems and involved the consumption or production of gases, which were measured in volumes. To determine the mass per volume of gases, he weighed them in glass balloons with capacities of about 17 litres. He also conducted experiments on combustion, which he carried out alongside his many public and private duties. In one such experiment, he improved the production of gunpowder by increasing the supply and ensuring the purity of its constituents.
Lavoisier also conducted a precise quantitative experiment on the supposed conversion of water into earth by evaporation. He showed that the "earthy" sediment produced after long-continued reflux heating of water in a glass vessel was not due to a conversion of water into earth, but rather to the gradual disintegration of the inside of the glass vessel by the boiling water.
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The advent of special relativity
The Law of Conservation of Mass was discovered by Antoine Lavoisier in 1789. Lavoisier's discovery laid the foundation for modern chemistry and revolutionized science.
In 1864, James Clerk Maxwell presented a theory of electromagnetism that contradicted Galilean relativity. This theory predicted a constant speed of light in a vacuum, regardless of the motion of the light emitter or receiver. The Michelson-Morley experiment of 1887 confirmed this constant speed of light. The work of George Francis Fitzgerald, Hendrik Antoon Lorentz, and Jules Henri Poincare built upon these findings, leading to the development of the theory of special relativity.
Albert Einstein's groundbreaking 1905 paper, "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies," introduced the theory of special relativity. This theory revolutionized modern physics by explaining how speed affects mass, time, and space. It proposed that the laws of physics and the speed of light are the same for all observers, regardless of their motion or the motion of the light source. This concept is known as the principle of relativity or the principle of light constancy.
Special relativity also introduced the concept of spacetime, formulated by Einstein's teacher Hermann Minkowski, and changed the definition of "relative speed" by incorporating the speed of light as the maximum possible speed. This theory has had profound consequences, including the relativity of simultaneity, time dilation, and length contraction.
In conclusion, the advent of special relativity was a significant development in physics, challenging existing notions of space and time and laying the foundation for a deeper understanding of the universe.
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Mass balance in ecosystems
The Law of Conservation of Mass was formulated by Antoine Lavoisier in 1789. He discovered that mass is neither created nor destroyed in chemical reactions. In other words, the mass of an element at the beginning of a reaction will equal the mass of that element at the end of the reaction. This law laid the foundation for modern chemistry and revolutionized science.
Ecosystems can be viewed as a series of compartments that are connected by the flow of materials and energy. These compartments can represent both living and non-living components, such as a fish, a school of fish, a forest, or a pool of carbon. Each of these compartments must obey the Law of Conservation of Mass, and the entire ecosystem must also follow this constraint.
In ecosystems, the concept of mass balance can be applied to understand the dynamics of biomass. Biomass refers to the total mass of living organisms within a given area or ecosystem. When inputs (resources obtained) exceed outputs (energy expended), the biomass of a compartment increases, as seen in an early successional forest. When inputs and outputs are equal, biomass remains steady, as in a mature forest. Conversely, when outputs exceed inputs, the biomass of a compartment decreases, such as when a forest is harvested.
Mass balance is also relevant when studying the feeding behavior of organisms within an ecosystem. For example, the diet of predators and the production estimates of their prey groups can be compared. However, it is important to note that diet compositions may not always provide reliable estimates of actual values. Instead, they can serve as "pointers" to guide further investigation.
In addition, mass balance considerations are crucial in the chemical industry and manufacturing processes. It helps to track the flow of certified materials, such as recycled plastic, through the value chain. By attributing inputs to outputs, manufacturers can make credible claims about the sustainability and GHG emission data of their finished goods.
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Frequently asked questions
The law of conservation of matter, also known as the law of conservation of mass, was formulated by French chemist Antoine Lavoisier.
The law of conservation of matter states that mass is neither created nor destroyed in chemical reactions. In other words, the mass of any one element at the beginning of a reaction will equal the mass of that element at the end of the reaction.
Antoine Lavoisier discovered the law of conservation of matter in 1789.
The discovery of the law of conservation of matter laid the foundation for modern chemistry and revolutionized science. It is an important tool for predicting the amount of product that will be made in a chemical reaction, and it has practical applications in laboratory practices and chemical manufacturing.
