Caloric theory
Teoría calórica
- Date
- 1789 · confidence medium
- Place
- Paris, France
- Credited to
- Antoine Lavoisier
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
A now-superseded scientific theory holding that heat was a self-repellent fluid called "caloric" that flowed from hot bodies to cold ones; it dominated the physics of heat until the mid-19th century.
It persisted in popular scientific texts until the late 19th century despite being superseded around 1850.
What it led to
- Replacement by the mechanical equivalent of heat
- Later development of thermodynamics