| RefNo | AP/28/25 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Unpublished paper, 'On phlogiston and the decomposition of water' by W F [William Ford] Stevenson |
| Date | 14 January 1846 |
| Description | Stevenson believes that the evidence on which the modern theory of the composition of water is founded is fallacious. Believing water to be a simple body, he conceives that it forms hydrogen by combining with the electric fluid, which he imagines to be identical with the phlogiston of former chemists. He cites the opinions of [Joseph] Priestley, [Henry] Cavendish and [James] Watt, as corroborating his views, and interprets their experiments in conformity with the hypothesis he has adopted.
Subject: Chemistry
Received 17 January 1846.
Written by Stevenson at The Albermarle, Marine Parade, Brighton [England].
An abstract of the paper was published in volume 5 of Abstracts of the Papers Printed in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London [later Proceedings of the Royal Society] as 'On phlogiston and the decomposition of water'. |
| Extent | 10p |
| Format | Manuscript |
| PhysicalDescription | Ink on paper |
| Digital images | View item on Science in the Making |
| AccessStatus | Open |
| RelatedMaterial | DOI: 10.1098/rspl.1843.0099 |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA3728 | Stevenson; William Ford (- 1852) | - 1852 |
| NA8295 | Watt; James (1736 - 1819) | 1736 - 1819 |
| NA8274 | Priestley; Joseph (1733 - 1804) | 1733 - 1804 |
| NA8163 | Cavendish; Henry (1731 - 1810); natural philosopher | 1731 - 1810 |