Abstract In ancient philosophy, water was regarded as a material principle. After the formation of the chemical discipline in the 17th century, water was defined as a chemical element. In the chemical revolution of the 18th century, water was found to be a hydroxide. The establishment of atom-molecular theory in the 19th century allowed the concept of water to be microscopically characterized. By the 20th century, the discovery of heavy water and the invention of dry water made new progress in the concept of water. In short, the history of the development of the concept of water reflects the development of chemistry thought and the progress of science and technology, which has important implications for chemistry research and chemistry education.
CUI Bo-Ya, YUAN Zhen-Dong. From Material Origin to Dry Water: The Development History of the Concept of Water[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Education, 2021, 42(11): 103-108.