Alchemy Alchemist Research Paper

The alchemist: The alchemist is a two hundred year old man. He is a serious and powerful master of alchemy, the study of transforming base metals into gold.

As you can see, this perfectly explains what alchemists are like. People perceive them as normal human beings, but they

Alchemy can be described in multiple ways. One way that alchemy is portrayed is as a “primitive precursor” for modern science and medicine practices (Bobory & Rampling, 2012). The practical and experimental side

1) What is alchemy? What processes were involved? Who performed it and why? Who were the famous alchemists of the medieval period?

Alchemy (Early Chemistry) was another science closely related to medicine. Alchemy was the name given to this science in Latin Europe in the 12th century. It was a belief that the human body was closely related to the stars and the heavens. Over hundreds of years, the main goals of alchemists were to turn any metal into gold and discover an elixir which could cure all ills or lead to immortality. This magical elixir was called the philosopher’s stone. Alchemy was based on the belief that there are four basic elements – fire, earth, air and water – and three essentials – salt, sulfur and mercury. The metals gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, and tin were all known before the rise of alchemy. The liquid metal, mercury, and the burning rock, sulfur, were also known. Many processes with these elements were known to alchemists. The art of alchemy was heavily spiritual. Alchemists were the first to try out different ideas and experiment with different elements, but because of their intense metaphysical and spiritual beliefs, they didn’t develop modern day scientific methods.

The purpose of this lab is to test substances and to determine the physical and chemical properties of substances.

The data gathered and calculated in the experiment accurately portrayed the way the reactions would have taken place. The chloride analysis was a little bit off from other groups due to the fact that our AgCl was in clumps, creating less surface area, thus our product took longer to burn and may not have burned correctly compared to other groups; yet there are several experimental factors that could have caused us to have different results than other groups, i.e. different measurements for samples. Our sources of error could have included eye measurement error, timing of set solutions error, measurement errors, and small calculation errors. Among other variables, the calibration of the analytical balance and spectrophotometer could have

B. Claim: As we go from methanol  ethanol  1-propanol  1-butanol the dispersion forces increase.

The proof (twice the % alcohol) starts at its maximum and goes down (as the alcohol evaporates). If we start with a high concentration of alcohol, we will get the azeotrope (95% alcohol, 5% water) for a while, then the concentration will decrease.

Prior to the scientific revolution, there was a branch of science called alchemy. Alchemists believed that it was possible to change substances into other substances. Many alchemists tried to no avail to turn ordinary metals into gold. During the Scientific Revolution, advances were made in chemistry that disproved many beliefs of alchemy, causing it to stop being practiced. However, some practices, including the manipulation of metals and acids evolved to become part of modern chemistry.

Purpose: The purpose of this experiment is to observe a variety of chemical reactions and to identify patterns in the conversion of reactants into products.

Some may refer to The Alchemist as a best-selling novel written by Paulo Coelho which explains the ideas of having a dream, or Personal Legend, and going through obstacles to conquer it. The book starts off like any other, introducing and describing the main characters, in this case Santiago is the first to share the interest of peers reading the story. He is said to be a small town shepherd boy who will do anything for his flock of sheep. In the opening scene of the story, Santiago takes his flock to an abandoned church and lies down under a sycamore tree hoping to get some rest. He is soon woken up from a disturbing dream which foreshadows further into the story of his own Personal Legend. Later in the book, Santiago is faced with multiple tests to be successful in finding his treasure. “Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure” (Coelho 15). Paulo continues to add characters in the book that help Santiago throughout his journey.

Essay twelve discusses a dark time for chemists. Suddenly, in the mid 1500’s chemists went from being priests and healers to witches and devils. Chemistry during this period is limited and men known as alchemists ran the show. These men used herbs metals and spices to create useful substances and herbal remedies. Helpful as they

Alchemist is already explained in the story as it is the ability to purify your soul, listen to your heart and speak the language of the world. The title is, then, to show us, the readers, that anyone can achieve his/her dream by possessing the characteristics of alchemist as exactly as the shepherd boy, Santiago.

Alchemy is considered the precursor to modern chemistry. When you think of chemistry, usually you think of an exact science; something very meticulous. Truthfully, it is. To be accurate and to obtain precise and desired results, it must be accurate. Alchemy, however, was not an exact science, it was a primitive approach to the elements and usually they looked to a deity to actually initiate chemical reactions. Thus we separated them, but for good reason. In today's time we us instruments to give us exactness and precision that mankind had formerly ignored. Throughout time you will see that mankind has used chemistry to solve its most complex of problems and build a world that 7 billion people have come to know as home.