alchemy history

37
Al-Chemya: The Great Secret A History of Alchemy and its Influence on Chemistry by David V. Black and the Chemistry Students at Walden School of Liberal Arts Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Upload: agnes-vitta-angelia

Post on 17-Aug-2015

134 views

Category:

Documents


14 download

DESCRIPTION

History from Alchemy

TRANSCRIPT

Al-Chemya:The Great SecretA History of Alchemy andits Inuence on Chemistryby David V. Blac!and th"Chemistry Students at Walden School of Liberal ArtsTuesday, October 19, 2010Many of the images in this presentation are photos taken by David V. Black as part of a Research Fe#owship sponsored by the Socit de Chimi" Industrie#e $American Section% at the Chemical Heritag" Foundation in Philadelphia; Summer, 2009CHF has an extensive co#ectio& of books on alchemy and th" history of chemistry; visit the' at: http://www.chemheritage.org/SourcesTuesday, October 19, 2010Origins of AlchemyAristotles conception of the four terrestrial elements $Earth, Water, Air, and Fire%:Metals can mature and transmut" into each otherBase metals such as lead wi# convert into goldSome substance $stone, tincture, or material% could be found to speed up the process: the Philosophers Ston"Tuesday, October 19, 2010El(ixir: El = The; Xires = Stone; Elixir = The StoneCould produce a tincture, powder, ointment, or liquid that would provide immortalityThe Red Elixir produces gold, th" White Elixir produces silverThe Elixir of LifeTuesday, October 19, 2010Many claimed to have mad" the Stone $or were later attributed with doing so%Some gave recipes or instructionsO)en couched in metaphorical and symbolic language to confuse the uninitiatedMany alchemists were wealthy or had wealthy patronsAlchemists Goal: To Find the StoneTuesday, October 19, 2010Leyden and Stockholm Papyrii show recipes for fake emeraldsEarliest alchemical works had recipes for gold that couldn* +or!Alchemy surrounded by tradition of secrecy and deliberate obscurityAppeasing the patron: putting o& a show to gain continued suppor*Alchemists as Con ArtistsTuesday, October 19, 2010The Alkahest: A solution to dissolve goldThe Trinum Magicum or Tria Prima: Three substances that wi# produce a# metals, such as mercury, sulfur, and sal*To rene and purify materialsThe processes by which materials could be puried $disti#ation, condensation, sublimation, crysta#ization, etc.% Outward and inward purication: transmutation of the soulOther Goals of AlchemyTuesday, October 19, 2010The Thrice(Majestic: Hermes, Thoth, and MercuryLegendary gure: Sometimes linked with Moses or PharaohHermetic Art $Hermeticism% named for hi'Wrot" Divine Pymander and th" Emerald Table!Alchemy and magic are identical branches of the same tre"Hermes TrimegistosTuesday, October 19, 2010Another legendary gure, believed to have lived somewhere between 1st and 3rd CenturiesSaid to have discovered hydrochloric acidInvented the kerotakis $tribikos%, a type of retor*Believed in the union of opposites: Joi& the male and the female and you wi# nd +hat is sought.Maria the JewessTuesday, October 19, 2010Historical gure: ,om Panopolis in Upper Egypt, lived i& Alexandria around 350 A.D.Inuenced by Gnostic Christianity, Greek philosophy, Egyptian traditionsWork translated into Arabic as th" Mushaf as"Suwar or Book of PicturesZosimos of PanopolisTuesday, October 19, 2010He related two alchemical dreams to his student and wife, TheosebeiaThe Priest of the Altar $Ion% chops Zosimos into four pieces $th" elements% and grinds him to a powder $the tincture%In the second dream, th" Homunculus $Brazen Man or Agathodaimon% dissolves Zosimos in a vat of liquid $the elixir%; thes" indicate the inward transformatio&The Stone is represented by a blu" $now green% and ye#ow symbol with the Water of Life pouring ou*Visions ofZosimosTuesday, October 19, 2010Symbols with faces above heads represent th" Other One, or th" perfected Zosimos and Theosebeia $sun and moon% as the red and +hite elixirsI#ustrations show alchemical furnaces, retorts, and other apparatus already in use by the 4th CenturyMany of the common themes of alchemy $such as the inward and outward transmutations, the King and Queen -sun and moon. as elixirs, the Stone, and the uroboros% are a# show&Tuesday, October 19, 2010Born in 721, was either Arab or Persia&Known as rst experimental chemis*Invented disti#ation and discovered /arious acids and chemicalsA prominent polymath: chemist, astronomer, engineer, philosopher, pharmacist, and physicia&Widely read in 10th Century Islamic +orldGeber (Jabir ibn-Hayyan)Tuesday, October 19, 2010Kitab al"Zuhra $Book of Venus% discusses alchemyBy rearranging the qualities of one metal, a di0erent metal would resultOver 3000 works attributed to hi'Works are highly symbolic and numerologic; possible origin of word gibberishHistorians claim many of his works wer" actua#y written by a later Pseudo(GeberGebers WorksTuesday, October 19, 2010Lived 1058 to 1119Islamic theologian, philosopher, and cosmologis*Revised Occasionalism: A theory of cause and e0ect and methodic doubt which is similar to modern scientic skepticis'Al GhazaliTuesday, October 19, 2010Born in Rome in 12th CenturyLived in Alexandria and learned how to create the Ston"Lived as a hermit near Jerusale'Summoned to the Sultan Khalid to show him how to create the Stone; Liber de Composition# Alchemia# records their conversatio&MorienusTuesday, October 19, 2010Born somewhere between 1190 and 1210Educated at University of Padua, accepted into Dominican OrderWrote on theology, metaphysics, and logic; a number of alchemical works attributed to him but uncertai&Teacher of St. Thomas AquinasWrot" De Mineralibus $On Minerals% in which he commented on Aristotle and talked about the power of stonesCredited with discovering arsenicAlbertus MagnusTuesday, October 19, 2010Lived about 1240 to 1310Studied at Sorbonne in ParisPhysician to Pope Clement VCreated an anesthesiaClaimed to have made the Ston"Wrot" Rosariu$ Philosophoru$, Specula$ Alchemia#, Scientia Scientia#, The Alchemy, and othersArnold of VillanovaTuesday, October 19, 201013th Century English ,iarAttended Oxford and concentrated o& mathematics and scienc"Developed the ideal formula for gunpowder based on Chines" descriptionsKnew his discovery was dangerous, so he wrote the recipe as a cipher $anagram%Arrested several timesSupposedly created a talking brass head and other marvelsRogerBaconTuesday, October 19, 2010Born 1232 in Palma, a city on the island of Majorca $Spanish%Courtier and womanizer as a young ma& in the court of King James of Arago&Sudden conversion to religion; dedicated his life to preaching Christianity to Muslims, went on a hermitage for nin" years and wrote books in Catala&Fluent in Arabic, Latin, and Occita&Died a)er being stoned in TunisRamon LlullTuesday, October 19, 2010Most of his alchemical works ar" probably wrongly attributed to hi'Credited with writing Ars Magna $the Great Art%Developed a type of computational system $Borda System% for religious logic; used +heels within wheels to generat" argumentsRamon Llulls AlchemyTuesday, October 19, 2010Spanish monk who lived around 1366Known for experiments i& disti#ation and using chemicals to cure diseases $the Panacea%Supposedly created the Philosophers Ston"Was denounced and imprisonedPossible source of Pseudo(Geber textsJohn of RupescissaTuesday, October 19, 2010Born mid(1300sFrench scribe, manuscript se#er, and alchemis*Met an angel while traveling to Spai& +ho told him the secret of the Ston"Used the Stone to produce the Elixir of Life; he and his wife Perene#e ar" supposed to be immortalTombstone dates his death as 1418 bu* his grave is supposedly empty; has hieroglyphs that te# the secre*His house sti# exists in Paris and is now a restauran*NicholasFlamelTuesday, October 19, 2010Born 1394; a Benedictine Monk and Cano& of the Priory of St. Peter in Erfurt, GermanyDiscovered that ammonia could be produced ,om sal ammoniac; hydrochloric acid ,o' acidied brine; copper and sulfur ,o' chalcopyrit"Works: Currus Triumphalis Antimonii $Triumphal Chariot of Antimony%; The Twelve Keys; Of th# First Tincture, Root, and Spirit of Metals; and Last Wi% and Testamen!Basil ValentineTuesday, October 19, 2010Mystical symbols that wi# lead to the Philosophers Stone and fountain of healthTranslated and retranslated throughout Europ"The Twelve KeysTuesday, October 19, 201015th Century English alchemist: Cano& of Birdlington; a wealthy country squir"Favored by Pope Innocent VIIISupposed to have been able to transmut" metalsA#egorical writings are hard to understand; includ" Liber Duodecem Portaru$, Marrow of Alchemy, and the Ripley ScrowleWrote about the Twelve Gates of AlchemyGeorge RipleyTuesday, October 19, 2010Born in Switzerland in 1493Is known as the Luther of Medicine; attempted to refor' medical practice to be based o& correct anatomy, observation, and medicines instead of blindly fo#owing Galen or CelsusParacelsus means better than CelsusConsidered one of the greates* iatrochemists $pharmacists%Paracelsus (Aureolus Philippus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim)Tuesday, October 19, 2010Never gained a medical degree bu* +orked as a surgeon in mercenary armies; kicked out of several universitiesBelieved more knowledge could b" gained ,om consulting old women tha& ,om a# the medical texts of the dayPublished many almanacs and medical books; credited with several alchemical textsDeveloped successful treatments for several diseasesParacelsus (Aureolus Philippus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim)Tuesday, October 19, 2010Born 1568 in Holstein, GermanyDoctorate of Medicine in 1596 a* Basel Physician and counselor to Rudolph II of Prague and James I, Prince of NassauWrot" Atalanta Fugiens $Atlanta Fleeing% in 1617Michael MaierTuesday, October 19, 2010Fi)y a#egorical drawings showing the secrets of nature and chemistryEpigrams in Latin and German which, if understood, would lead to the Philosophers Ston"Each drawing also cam" +ith a musical number i& the form of a three(voic" fugue $fugiens%Atalanta FugiensTuesday, October 19, 2010Many of his symbols shar" elements that go back to ZosimosKronos disgorging the Stone $Fuga 1%The uroboros: th" dragon devouring her husband $Fuga 50%Symbols in Atalanta FugiensTuesday, October 19, 2010Tuesday, October 19, 2010Born 1579 in BrusselsFlemish physician and chemist; studied Hippocrates, Galen, Avicenna, and other medical textsCoined the term gas $,om chaos% and discovered carbon dioxid" Tree experiment: weight gain was a# due to water $failed to realize also comes ,om air%Died ,om accidental carbon monoxid" poisoningJohann Baptista van HelmontTuesday, October 19, 2010Born in Bermuda, 1628; studied at HarvardFirst American scientist; wrot" under pseudonyms $Philalethes and No Adept%Defended Helmontia& chemistry and medicin"Inuential alchemical author; ,iend of Robert Boyl"Died of the Plague in 1665George Starkey(Eirenaeus Philalethes)Tuesday, October 19, 2010Original head of family was a& alchemist trying to turn metal sheets into goldDidnt make gold, but the metal sheets did produce a clear musical ton"Sultan Osman III rewarded him for his discovery and changed his name to Zil $Cymbal% and Dij $Se#er%Began se#ing cymbals in 1623; recipe is a closely guarded family secre*Family moved to U. S. in 1938; it is the oldest family(run business in th" United StatesAvedisZildjianTuesday, October 19, 2010Never succeeded in proving th" Philosophers Stone or Elixir of Lif"Discovered many new substances and elementsDeveloped new processes for purifying chemicals, such as disti#ation, condensation, sublimation, and crysta#izatio&One of three threads which led to moder& chemistry, along with Greek matter theories and Medieval cra)smanshipResults of AlchemyTuesday, October 19, 2010They tried to prov" Aristotles transmutation, but instead led to his overthrowLasted ,om 300 B.C. to about 1750 A.D.; transitio& period where scientic observation was used bu* transmutation was sti# believed is ca#ed Chymistry $1600 to 1750%Results of AlchemyTuesday, October 19, 2010