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Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
alchemy Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...
, alkahest was the theorized "universal
solvent A solvent (s) (from the Latin '' solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas, or a supercritical fluid. Water is a solvent for ...
". It was supposed to be capable of dissolving any other substance, including
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
, without altering or destroying its fundamental components. Among its philosophical and spiritual preoccupations,
Hermeticism Hermeticism, or Hermetism, is a philosophical system that is primarily based on the purported teachings of Hermes Trismegistus (a legendary Hellenistic combination of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth). These teachings are containe ...
was more anciently concerned with the
panacea In Greek mythology, Panacea (Greek ''Πανάκεια'', Panakeia), a goddess of universal remedy, was the daughter of Asclepius and Epione. Panacea and her four sisters each performed a facet of Apollo's art: * Panacea (the goddess of univers ...
, but (in the context of reformed understandings of
human physiology The human body is the structure of a human being. It is composed of many different types of cells that together create tissues and subsequently organ systems. They ensure homeostasis and the viability of the human body. It comprises a head ...
) the emergent Latin alchemy associated with European humanism was itself transmuted into a new medical and pharmaceutical philosophy. The Swiss physician and alchemist Philippus Paracelsus (1493-1541), who gave his name to the early modern school of medical theory known as Paracelcism, first made mention of the alkahest as a chemical which could fortify the liver, and (in instances where the liver failed) could act as a substitute for its functions (
see See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...
''De Viribus Membrorum Spiritualium'', Cap. VI, "De Cura Epatis", at p. 10). By reducing or dissolving substances into their fundamental virtues and properties, it was hoped to gain control of those invaluable medical healing properties (see also
azoth Azoth was considered to be a universal medication or universal solvent, and was sought for in alchemy. Similar to another alchemical idealized substance, alkahest, azoth was the aim, goal and vision of many alchemical works. Its symbol was the Ca ...
), and for this reason the alkahest (also known as the ''ignis gehennae'') was earnestly sought for, and the reality (or otherwise) of its existence was debated among the alchemists and philosophers.


History

Alkahest became very popular in the 17th and 18th centuries through J.B. van Helmont, after which it was taken less seriously over time. Its prevalence in the 17th and 18th centuries, despite its otherwise absurd and extreme qualities, was likely due to the popularity of alchemy at the time and the lack of an adequate alternative theory of chemistry. Those who followed and trained under Paracelsus did not think of the alkahest as van Helmont did, but slowly built upon the ideas posed by their teacher. Tobias Ludwig Kohlhans (1624-1705) suggested in his dissertation of the spleen, that alkahest could be found in the lymphatic vessels of animals. This was then contested and doubted by Helmont,
Henry Oldenburg Henry Oldenburg (also Henry Oldenbourg) FRS (c. 1618 as Heinrich Oldenburg – 5 September 1677), was a German theologian, diplomat, and natural philosopher, known as one of the creators of modern scientific peer review. He was one of the fo ...
(later in 1661), and Goddard, who raised questions about the lymph's "sweetly acidic" quality, the necessity of a hypothetical universal solvent to explain the acidity in empty animal lymphatic vessels, its ability to be generated within the body, and how it differed from that of the other fluids or
humours Humorism, the humoral theory, or humoralism, was a system of medicine detailing a supposed makeup and workings of the human body, adopted by Ancient Greek and Roman physicians and philosophers. Humorism began to fall out of favor in the 1850s ...
in the body. The German alchemist Johann Kunckel (1630-1703) and others in time began to see the alkahest as merely fantasy and wishful thinking. Ladislaus Reti, a 20th-century historian of science, investigated alchemical recipes involving alkahest and found that no chemical was sufficient in breaking down the wide variety of materials Helmont supposed. Reti points out that in such recipes, an alcohol solution of
potassium hydroxide Potassium hydroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula K OH, and is commonly called caustic potash. Along with sodium hydroxide (NaOH), KOH is a prototypical strong base. It has many industrial and niche applications, most of which exp ...
could have been used instead.


Etymology

There is no consensus on the origin and etymology of the word alkahest, as Paracelsus left no trace or history of the word.
George Starkey George Starkey (1628–1665) was a Colonial American alchemist, medical practitioner, and writer of numerous commentaries and chemical treatises that were widely circulated in Western Europe and influenced prominent men of science, including Robe ...
argued it came from the german word ''al-gehest'' (all spirit).
Johann Rudolph Glauber Johann Rudolf Glauber (10 March 1604 – 16 March 1670) was a German-Dutch alchemist and chemist. Some historians of science have described him as one of the first chemical engineers. His discovery of sodium sulfate in 1625 led to the com ...
posed that it could have come from the words ''alhali est,'' the german word ''al gar heis'', or ''Al zu hees,'' meaning "very hot". Cleidophorus Mystagogus in England argued for its root being of Belgian or High Dutch. Paracelsus believed that alkahest was, in fact, the
philosopher's stone The philosopher's stone or more properly philosophers' stone (Arabic: حجر الفلاسفة, , la, lapis philosophorum), is a mythic alchemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold (, from the Greek , "gold", ...
, whereas Henry Oldenburg in 1661 made experimental connections between the legendary alkahest, and the
liquid A liquid is a nearly incompressible fluid that conforms to the shape of its container but retains a (nearly) constant volume independent of pressure. As such, it is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, gas, a ...
discovered in the lymphatic vessels of animals introduced by Kohlhans.
Boerhaave Herman Boerhaave (, 31 December 1668 – 23 September 1738Underwood, E. Ashworth. "Boerhaave After Three Hundred Years." ''The British Medical Journal'' 4, no. 5634 (1968): 820–25. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20395297.) was a Dutch botanist, ...
in his textbook ''Elementa Chymiae'' (1732), did not think Alkahest was the philosopher's stone but that it was in fact of greater importance and value than the stone.


Other names

Helmont considered the alkahest to have never-ending reusability, calling it an "immortal". He also used the term "maccabean fire" because of its similarities to the "thick water" in the
deuterocanonical The deuterocanonical books (from the Greek meaning "belonging to the second canon") are books and passages considered by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and the Assyrian Church of the East to be ...
Book of Maccabees in the Old Testament. Another name for the Alkahest termed by Helmont was ''ignis gehennae.'' Other names include Latex (or "clear water reduced to its minutest atoms"), and ''primum Ens Salum'' (or "salt exalted to its highest degree").


Structure and mechanism

The theory of alkahest was conceived in terms of
alchemy Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...
,
Helmontian Jan Baptist van Helmont (; ; 12 January 1580 – 30 December 1644) was a chemist, physiologist, and physician from Brussels. He worked during the years just after Paracelsus and the rise of iatrochemistry, and is sometimes considered to ...
theories, and the physical theory of corpuscularianism. According to Helmont and
Robert Boyle Robert Boyle (; 25 January 1627 – 31 December 1691) was an Anglo-Irish natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, alchemist and inventor. Boyle is largely regarded today as the first modern chemist, and therefore one of the founders of ...
, the alkahest had a "microstructure", meaning it was composed of extremely small, homogeneous corpuscles. This structure allowed the alkahest's corpuscles to move between the corpuscles of all other materials and mechanically separate them without altering their base materials or itself, conforming with the idea that it was infinitely reuseable. It was these qualities which made the alkahest distinct from ordinary corrosives, which are altered by the substances they act upon and thus are not infinitely reusable.


Uses

George Starkey George Starkey (1628–1665) was a Colonial American alchemist, medical practitioner, and writer of numerous commentaries and chemical treatises that were widely circulated in Western Europe and influenced prominent men of science, including Robe ...
and his mentor Helmont (by their report) used mercuric sulphide to dissolve gold, and informed
Boyle Boyle is an English, Irish and Scottish surname of Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon or Norman origin. In the northwest of Ireland it is one of the most common family names. Notable people with the surname include: Disambiguation *Adam Boyle (disambiguation), ...
about it in a series of letters. The alkahest, according to Starkey, was able to remove sulphur from the natural mercury leaving a quicksilver resistant to corrosion. Moreover, because of the credited power of alkahest to break down substances into their occult qualities, it was sought after for its potential to cure incurable diseases at the time. For example, the breaking down of ''Ludus'' could provide a cure for
urinary calculi Kidney stone disease, also known as nephrolithiasis or urolithiasis, is a crystallopathy where a solid piece of material (kidney stone) develops in the urinary tract. Kidney stones typically form in the kidney and leave the body in the urine s ...
.


Recipe

The recipe for the theorized alkahest was often kept secret, as many alchemical recipes were. There were many alchemists attempting to obtain the universal solvent, and thus many recipes, some later rejected by their creators, have been found.


Paracelsus

Paracelsus's own recipe for alkahest was made of caustic lime, alcohol, and
carbonate of potash Potassium carbonate is the inorganic compound with the formula K2 CO3. It is a white salt, which is soluble in water. It is deliquescent, often appearing as a damp or wet solid. Potassium carbonate is mainly used in the production of soap and gl ...
; however, his recipe was not intended to be a "universal solvent".


Jan Baptist van Helmont

Following Paracelsus, it was the chemist
Jan Baptist van Helmont Jan Baptist van Helmont (; ; 12 January 1580 – 30 December 1644) was a chemist, physiologist, and physician from Brussels. He worked during the years just after Paracelsus and the rise of iatrochemistry, and is sometimes considered to b ...
who expanded on the alkahest, believing it was a universal solvent. Helmont claimed that knowledge of the recipe was granted by God and was therefore known by few, and he had many dreams during which he believed he had been gifted the recipe, only to find them inadequate. Given the difficulty of obtaining alkahest, Helmont suggested the use of other, inferior substances that they believed were capable of similar tasks. Volatile salt of tartar, also known as pyrotartaric acid or
glutaric acid Glutaric acid is the organic compound with the formula C3H6(COOH)2 . Although the related "linear" dicarboxylic acids adipic and succinic acids are water-soluble only to a few percent at room temperature, the water-solubility of glutaric acid is ...
, was considered both a substitute for alkahest and a component of alkahest. Helmont's writings also referred to a fourteenth century alchemical manuscript which discussed sal alkali, which may have been caustic potash or
lye A lye is a metal hydroxide traditionally obtained by leaching wood ashes, or a strong alkali which is highly soluble in water producing caustic basic solutions. "Lye" most commonly refers to sodium hydroxide (NaOH), but historically has been u ...
, that was capable of dissolving many substances and may have been an ingredient for Helmont's alkahest.


Seventeenth century alchemists

During the seventeenth century, many alchemists were working on obtaining the alkahest, some being
Johann Rudolf Glauber Johann Rudolf Glauber (10 March 1604 – 16 March 1670) was a German-Dutch alchemist and chemist. Some historians of science have described him as one of the first chemical engineers. His discovery of sodium sulfate in 1625 led to the compou ...
,
George Starkey George Starkey (1628–1665) was a Colonial American alchemist, medical practitioner, and writer of numerous commentaries and chemical treatises that were widely circulated in Western Europe and influenced prominent men of science, including Robe ...
, Frederick Clod, Thomas Vaughan, Thomas Henshaw, Johann Brun, Robert Hamilton, Hugh Piatt, and Robert Child. Glauber believed that the alkahest was a class of substances, rather than one, particular substance. Glauber believed he had discovered alkahest after discovering that volatile niter (
nitric acid Nitric acid is the inorganic compound with the formula . It is a highly corrosive mineral acid. The compound is colorless, but older samples tend to be yellow cast due to decomposition into oxides of nitrogen. Most commercially available nitri ...
) and fixed niter (
potassium carbonate Potassium carbonate is the inorganic compound with the formula K2 CO3. It is a white salt, which is soluble in water. It is deliquescent, often appearing as a damp or wet solid. Potassium carbonate is mainly used in the production of soap and gl ...
) were able to dissolve many substances. Starkey described alkahest as a circulated salt that is neither acid nor alkali. Moreover, Starkey believed that, because acid saline liquors are destroyed by alkalies and urinous spirits, they cannot be ingredients of the immortal alkahest. He believed instead that non-acidic substances could be ingredients of the alkahest, some of these suspected substances being urinous spirits, spirit of alkalies, and sulphureous vegetable spirits. In particular, Starkey believed that alkahest's secret ingredient laid within urine.
Clodius Clodius is an alternate form of the Roman '' nomen'' Claudius, a patrician ''gens'' that was traditionally regarded as Sabine in origin. The alternation of ''o'' and ''au'' is characteristic of the Sabine dialect. The feminine form is Clodia. R ...
believed that mercury could convert salts into "ponderous liquor", which he believed was needed to make the alkahest.


Issues with the concept

A potential problem involving alkahest is that, if it dissolves everything, then it cannot be placed into a container because it would dissolve the container. This problem was first posed by German alchemist Johann Kunckel. However, the alchemist
Philalethes Philalethes (Greek: φιλαλήθης, philaléthēs, pronounced ilalétɛːs was an Ancient Greek name, also often adopted in pseudonyms (based on its literal translation, "lover of truth"). It may apply to: * ''Philalethes'', book by Severus o ...
specified that alkahest dissolved only composed materials into their constituent, elemental parts; hence, a hypothetical container made of a pure element (say, lead) would not be dissolved by alkahest.


Modern usages of the term

The old remark "spit is the universal solvent" satirizes the idea, suggesting that instead of a solvent that would easily dissolve anything, the only "real" solvent to anything is a great deal of hard work. In modern times,
water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...
is sometimes called the universal solvent, because it can dissolve a large variety of substances, due to its chemical polarity and amphoterism. Alkahest, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical subsidiary of
Grifols Grifols, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturer. Principally a producer of blood plasma-based products, a field in which it is the European leader and largest worldwide, the company also supplies devices, ins ...
which is developing products derived from blood plasma to reverse and inhibit aging.


References

{{Alchemy Alchemical substances Mythological substances