On Air

When Lavoisier began his crique of the very popular phlogistone theory in the late 1770s, he gave an important example of how an improbable theory leads to an important discovery. He tried to explain, and in fact did explain, air through the study of combustion.

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But Lavoisier was not trying to "discover air," but instead to show that the phlogiston theory was not accurate enough to explain several ovserved phanomina. His experiments showed that the negative weight phologistone could not exist, and hypothysized (drwaing from the discovorer of oxygen', Preistly's, work) he proposed the theory of air.

This is an example of a modification of a theory to explain experimental data long before it has uses in everyday life. People didn't care whether it was called air, oxygen, or pholgiston as they went about their daily reuteins, but the work would help lead to more detailed understanding of combustion, many chemical reactions, and, ultimatly, whoue to utilize the two for commercial use (Gale, p114-142).