In the history of science, alchemy (Arabic: الكيمياء, al-kimia) refers to both an early form of the investigation of nature and an early philosophical and spiritual discipline, both combining elements of chemistry, metallurgy, physics, medicine, astrology, semiotics, mysticism, spiritualism, and art all as parts of one greater force. Alchemy has been practiced in Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Persia, India, and China, in Classical Greece and Rome, in Muslim civilization, and then in Europe up to the 19th century—in a complex network of schools and philosophical systems spanning at least 2500 years.
Western alchemy has always been closely connected with Hermeticism, a philosophical and spiritual system that traces its roots to Hermes Trismegistus, a syncretic Egyptian-Greek deity and legendary alchemist. These two disciplines influenced the birth of Rosicrucianism, an important esoteric movement of the seventeenth century. In the course of the early modern period, mainstream alchemy evolved into modern chemistry.
Today the discipline is of interest mainly to historians of science and philosophy, and for its mystic, esoteric, and artistic aspects. Nevertheless, alchemy was one of the main precursors of modern sciences, and many substances and processes of ancient alchemy continue to be the mainstay of modern chemical and metallurgical industries.
Although alchemy takes on many forms, in pop culture it is most often cited in stories, films, shows, and games as the process used to change lead (or other elements) into gold. Also another form that alchemy takes is in the search for the Philosopher's Stone, in which to obtain the ability to transmute inexpensive metals such as lead into gold ("chrysopoeia" in the Greek language) and/or create an elixir that grants eternal life.
2007-05-28 02:13:04
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answer #1
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answered by Anonymous
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Alchemy, ancient art practiced especially in the Middle Ages, devoted chiefly to discovering a substance that would transmute the more common metals into gold or silver and to finding a means of indefinitely prolonging human life. Although its purposes and techniques were dubious and often illusory, alchemy was in many ways the predecessor of modern science, especially the science of chemistry.
The birthplace of alchemy was ancient Egypt, where, in Alexandria, it began to flourish in the Hellenistic period; simultaneously, a school of alchemy was developing in China. The writings of some of the early Greek philosophers might be considered to contain the first chemical theories; and the theory advanced in the 5th century bc by Empedocles—that all things are composed of air, earth, fire, and water—was influential in alchemy. The Roman emperor Caligula is said to have instituted experiments for producing gold from orpiment, a sulfide of arsenic, and the emperor Diocletian is said to have ordered all Egyptian works concerning the chemistry of gold and silver to be burned in order to stop such experiments. Zosimus the Theban (about ad250-300) discovered that sulfuric acid is a solvent of metals, and he liberated oxygen from the red oxide of mercury.
The FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT OF ALCHEMY stemmed from the Aristotelian doctrine that all things tend to reach perfection. Because other metals were thought to be less “perfect” than gold, it was reasonable to assume that nature formed gold out of other metals deep within the earth and that with sufficient skill and diligence an artisan could duplicate this process in the workshop. Efforts toward this goal were empirical and practical at first, but by the 4th century ad, astrology, magic, and ritual had begun to gain prominence.
A school of pharmacy flourished in Arabia during the caliphates of the Abbasids from 750 to 1258. The earliest known work of this school is the Summa Perfectionis (Summit of Perfection), attributed to the Arabian scientist and philosopher Geber; the work is consequently the oldest book on chemistry proper in the world and is a collection of all that was then known and believed. The Arabian alchemists worked with gold and mercury, arsenic and sulfur, and salts and acids, and they became familiar with a wide range of what are now called chemical reagents. They believed that metals are compound bodies, made up of mercury and sulfur in different proportions. Their scientific creed was the potentiality of transmutation, and their methods were mostly blind gropings; yet, in this way, they found many new substances and invented many useful processes.
2007-05-28 02:15:04
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answer #2
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answered by kimi_possible 2
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Historically the concept of Alchemy is turn object into gold. All elements can be trace their origin form hydrogen atom and so is gold. In a way, such transformations exists in nature in the form of nuclei reactions in star formation and destruction.
2007-05-28 03:53:27
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answer #3
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answered by Ed N 1
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You'll hear so many things, and seeing is truly believing, you have to see it! Trust me, I wish it were all nonsense but sometimes some things are true whether you want believe in them or not, and that's the scary part. But with all sincerity, yes. I also really believe that there will be tangible scientific evidence available soon, enough to prove the existence of the paranormal.
2016-05-19 21:53:42
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answer #4
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answered by ? 3
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The simple explanation from the pictures in old days, they are trying to change any metal into gold and else.
I have read someone that ever chnage copper into gold and it includes Mercury however I don't know if it is or not ^.^
2007-05-28 02:24:01
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answer #5
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answered by Harry Christianto Tjondro E2M2 2
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