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“A small bubble of air remained unabsorbed... if there is any part of the phlogisticated air [nitrogen] of our atmosphere which differs from the rest, and cannot be reduced to nitrous acid, we may safely conclude that it is not more than 1/120 part of the whole. [Cavendish did not realize the significance of the remaining small bubble. Not until a century later were the air’s Noble Gases appreciated.]” — Henry Cavendish
A small bubble of air remained unabsorbed... if there is any part of the phlogisticated air [nitrogen] of our atmosphere which differs from the rest, and cannot be reduced to nitrous acid, we may safely conclude that it is not more than 1/120 part of the whole.
[Cavendish did not realize the significance of the remaining small bubble. Not until a century later were the air’s Noble Gases appreciated.]