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Alchemical Substances
Alchemical studies produced a number of substances, which were later classified as particular chemical compounds or mixtures of compounds. Many of these terms were in common use into the 20th century. Metals and metalloids * Antimony/ – Sb * Bismuth (german: Wismuth) – Bi * Copper/ – associated with Venus. Cu * Gold/ – associated with the Sun. Au * Iron/ – associated with Mars. Fe * Lead/ – associated with Saturn. Pb * Quicksilver/ – associated with Mercury. Hg * Silver/ – associated with the Moon. Ag * Tin/ – associated with Jupiter. Sn Minerals, stones, and pigments * Bluestone – mineral form of copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate, also called blue vitriol. * Borax – sodium borate; was also used to refer to other related minerals. * Cadmia/Tuttia/Tutty – probably zinc carbonate. * Calamine – zinc carbonate. * Calomel/Horn Quicksilver/horn mercury – mercury(I) chloride, a very poisonous purgative formed by subliming a mixture of mercuric chlori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first attested in a number of pseudepigraphical texts written in Greco-Roman Egypt during the first few centuries AD.Principe, Lawrence M. The secrets of alchemy'. University of Chicago Press, 2012, pp. 9–14. Alchemists attempted to purify, mature, and perfect certain materials. Common aims were chrysopoeia, the transmutation of "base metals" (e.g., lead) into "noble metals" (particularly gold); the creation of an elixir of immortality; and the creation of panaceas able to cure any disease. The perfection of the human body and soul was thought to result from the alchemical ''magnum opus'' ("Great Work"). The concept of creating the philosophers' stone was variously connected with all of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
