“Our theories are crutches”: what chemists got wrong

Antoine Lavoisier conducting an experiment related to combustion generated by amplified sun light. Source: History of Science

Chemistry is often accredited with fostering the development of civilizations. Early chemists were responsible for developing the fields of metallurgy, pharmacology and that obsolete brand of science, alchemy. In fact, a distinction between chemistry and alchemy was only established in the 17th century, when Robert Boyle described chemistry as applying scientific methods, while alchemy retained its…