Base (chemistry) increase the hydronium (HO) concentration in water, whereas bases reduce this concentration. A reaction between an acid and base is called neutralization. In a neutralization reaction, an aqueous solution of a base reacts with an aqueous solution of an acid to produce a solution of water and salt in which the salt separates into its component ions. If the aqueous solution is saturated with a given salt solute, any additional such salt precipitates out of the solution. The notion of a base as a concept in chemistry was first introduced by the French chemist Guillaume François Rouelle in 1754. He
Chemistry: A Volatile History elements to Lavoisier's list, as well as confirming that substances like chlorine and iodine were also elements. By the time of his death in 1829 the idea of the elements was firmly established, 55 separate elements had been discovered, and the world had a new science: Chemistry. At the beginning of the 19th century only 55 of the 92 naturally occurring elements had been discovered. Scientists had no idea how many more they might find, or indeed if there were an infinite number of elements. They also sought to answer a fundamental question, namely: is there a pattern to the