Alchemy: Turning Rocks to Gold Since the Middle Ages!

Alchemy. Such a misunderstood science. I hope this article can help set things straight for whomever reads it.

Alchemy is an ancient art, first practiced in the Middle Ages. It was devoted to finding a substance that would transmute, (or turn) common metals in to gold, silver or other precious metals, and also to cause immortality in humans. Alchemy was most likely the first time people dipped their toes into chemistry.

Alchemy began in Ancient Egypt, and was especially prevalent in Alexandria in the Hellenistic period. At the same time, China had been tinkering with the ideas as well. Early writings about alchemy by greek philosiphers are sometimes thought of as the first chemical theories. Empedocles (im-ped-oh-klees) formed the all too famous theory that all things in existence were made of air, fire, earth and water. Later, the emperor Diocletian (die-oh-klee-shun) ordered all of the Egyptian texts on the chemistry of gold and silver to be burned and for all expirements to stop.

Zosimus the Theban disvovered that sulfuric acid is a solvent of metals, and, using this, he removed oxygen from the red oxide of mercury, turning the oxidized mercury pure again, much like if you took rust off a nail, it would be a normal nail again. Alchemy's fundemental concept came from an Aristotelian doctrine saying that all things tend to reach perfection at some point. Since other common metals were "less perfect" than gold and other precious metals, it made sense to these researchers that these metals would eventually turn to gold. Also it was thought that nature must make gold out of common metals deep within the earth, so with any luck, this process could be done in the lab with good result.

Eventually Alchemy reached Arabia, where the first book on Chemistry was written. From there it travelled through Spain, into Europe. Roger Bacon, and Albertus Magnus both believed that transmutation to gold was possible. Most people, including these two famous Alchemists, believed that gold was the perfect metal, and that if the philosipher's stone was created, it would be a substance so much more perfect than gold, that it would make the less perfect metals transmute.

Roger Bacon believed that gold dissolved in Aqua Regia* was the elixer of life. The Italian Scholastic philosopher St. Thomas Aquinas, the Catalan churchman Raymond Lully, and the Benedictine monk Basil Valentine also did much to further the progress of chemistry and alchemy, in discovering the uses of antimony, the making of amalgams, and the isolation of spirits of wine, or ethyl alcohol.

Perhaps the most famous Alchemist was the Swiss Philippus Paracelsus. He believed that the elements of compound bodies were salt, sulfur and mercury, representing earth, air and water. Fire however was imponderable to him. He believed also, that there was one more element, the source of the four ancients. This one element that created everything was called Alkahest, and he stated that if it were found, it would prove to be the universal medicine, an irrisistable solvent, and the philosipher's stone. In other words, it was the ultimate form of perfection.

After this, the alchemists of Europe split into two main groups. Those based on facts and hard research, and those who dabbled in the metaphysical, these entangled alchemy in fraud, necromancy, and imposture. This gives alchemy the current mysterious status.

Perhaps the most fun part of Alchemy is the coded engravings that were made during the time. Many of them are still around, and almost impossible to decifer without an explaination. Using obscure characters including the planets themselves as symbols for who-knows-what. Kings, queens, crows, multi-blossom flowers, and green lions abound.

Hi. I am coconut of http://www.cococomics.net ! Thank you for reading and considering my articles. It would be very much appreciated if a link or simple URL was back to my site wherever you use my articles! Thank you!

---

Science Fiction by Arthur C Clarke

It is difficult to have a discussion with someone about... Read More

How Satellite TV Systems Originated

What we know as satellite tv actually had its origins... Read More

Ocean Polymer Goo to Stop Enemy Ships, a Concept

Naval blockade using polymer goo to stop fleeing ships might... Read More

Cloaking a UAV in Flight

If you will recall the Klingon Space Craft and Warship... Read More

The Joy of Recycling

I have always been an advocate of recycling. Even though... Read More

How Did DNA Testing Children Begin?

The landmark immigration case Sarbah vs. Home Office (1985) was... Read More

Astrophysics and Other Universe Sentient Life

ASTROPHYSICS: - Many other entries will deal with knowledge from... Read More

Composite Materials in Ships, Pipelines, Liners and Aircraft

One future problem, which has not sufficiently been addressed, is... Read More

Global Dumbing?

I am beginning to wonder if scientists have been getting... Read More

Spray on Dirt for Camouflage

Super sticky spray on dirt or mud simulation coating or... Read More

Electric Power Production From Magnetic Tapes

ATHENS - GREECE, -- An individual person called Basil Dimitropoulos,... Read More

Life Under Mars Ice Shelf?

When looking for life on Mars we should be thinking... Read More

Bi-Location

BI-LOCATION (PADRE PIO & PYTHAGORAS): - I have some experience... Read More

Human Motion, Walking, Running and Gait for Identification

Identifying a human gait, walking patterns, running exists. Can such... Read More

Acoustic Transducers and Light Waves for VSTOL, a Concept

Is it possible to use many acoustic transducers underneath an... Read More

Equipment for the Amateur Astronomer ? Part 1

Binoculars and telescopes and other astronomy equipment and accessories are... Read More

Launching 400 UAVs from a Transport Plane

How to launch hundreds of UAVs for an autonomous mission... Read More

Making Diamonds Using The Earth

We can make diamonds using the Earth's inner forces, extreme... Read More

Divining Your Soul Number

Your Soul Number, which defines your very essence or heart's... Read More

Confusing MAV Optic Flow Sensors In flight Using Mobiles

Using Shapes on Mobiles to confuse optic flow sensors in... Read More

Mystical Physicists

INSPIRATIONAL COMMENTS:"There is a principle which is a bar against... Read More

Traffic Zoology

There is a secret zoo that runs encaged along the... Read More

Aluminum Oxide to Disrupt Laser Weapons

In a defensive move to eliminate communication of an enemy,... Read More

Aerospace Design Thoughts, The Bionic Man, and The Future of Design

Not all aircraft have wings, for instance NASA's Steve Austin... Read More

A Tuned Bio-Field and a New Definition of Consciousness: Part 1

I rarely hear about the role of the Heart or... Read More

Tactile Squeegee for Plexiglas Windows

Cleaning Plexiglas windows is not easy, you have to be... Read More

51 Easy, Eco-Friendly Ways You Can Help Sustain Planet Earth

1. Air dry your laundry.2. Ask your utility companies for... Read More

Gulf of Mexico Formed by a Rotating Hurricane Trapped in the Region

Recently in a coffee shop I met a gentleman who... Read More

Welcome to the Eye Science

Thousands of dyslexic students, across the UK, are referred of... Read More

Weather Control and Creation to Use as a Screen for Troop Advancement

Creating a Hurricane using a Space based laser array to... Read More

Environmental Eco-Terrorists Must Be Stopped

Eco-terrorists assume some how they are helping the environment, by... Read More

NASA Budget VS Social Programs

Balancing our quest for Space and its costs with the... Read More

An Immortal Horse

Egyptian scholars know there is little other than fiction that... Read More