Chemical analysis and synthesis go no farther than to the separation of particles one from another, and to their reunion. No new creation or destruction of matter is within the reach of chemical agency. We might as well attempt to introduce a new planet into the solar system, or to annihilate one already in existence, as to create or destroy a particle of hydrogen."

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Chemical analysis and synthesis go no farther than to the separation of particles one from another, and to their reunion. No new creation or destruction of matter is within the reach of chemical agency. We might as well attempt to introduce a new planet into the solar system, or to annihilate one already in existence, as to create or destroy a particle of hydrogen."" in the context of "John Dalton.A New System of Chemical Philosophy, chapter III "On Chemical Synthesis", p 212. Published in Manchester, 1808.
• Comment: The quote would be famously wrong in the nuclear age if it hadn't been presciently qualified, but that makes it memorable. It is also ironic in that a new planet, Pluto, was discovered afterward, but subsequently demoted from planet status." to mean that wisdom is timeless.