Atomic Timeline : The Alchemy

In the early days of alchemy, many scholars doubted the authenticity and credibility of alchemy as a scholarly field of study. They labeled it as “mystical” and challenged greatly the possibilities of alchemical transmutations and any practitioner’s credibility. However, alchemy was still practiced and discussed in all levels of society. Alchemy has been discovered in recent times to have been central to the development of early modern science and medicine. The practice of alchemy has made many contributions to the development of modern chemical medicines.

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.

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.

  Then in 1661, Irish chemist Robert Boyle supported the philosophers’ theory of how chemical elements are made up of the simplest matter, backing the theory of how matter makes up all life and is the smallest living thing (Doc. 1). But a bombshell happened in 1803 when John Dalton backed up all three theories by discovering that atoms make up all matter, and chemical compounds are made of atoms (OI).

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

He stated that this was a mysterious force but never continued his research on it. Then in 460 B.C. there was a philosopher named Democritus. Democritus and his mentor Leocippus posed the question that if he broke bread into multiple pieces how many would breaks would it take until there was no more bread. He then was able to make a few theories being all matter was created of atoms and atoms are solid but not invisible. However, there was a man named Aristotle and many other philosophers who disagreed with Democritus and said matter was composed of four main elements. Earth, fire, air, and water. For example, a liquid was made of water and a stone was made of rock. Therefore, Democritus’s theory “ was rejected by Aristotle, one of the most influential philosophers of Ancient Greece; and the atomic theory was ignored for nearly 2,000 years.”(

Thomson did many experiments and found that the mass of one of these electrons was nearly 2000 times lighter than the element Hydrogen. Thomson then disproved Dalton in stating that atoms cannot be divided into smaller pieces. (Born,

Democritus, an Ancient Greek philosopher, is widely considered to be the founding father of the Atomic Theory. Democritus proposed that matter is composed of atoms, which move through empty space. He also proposed that atoms are solid, homogeneous, indestructible, and indivisible, and that different types of atoms have different kinds of sizes and shapes, which determine the properties of matter. Democritus and other Greek philosophers Leucippus and Epicurus, were among the first to propose the size, shape, and connectivity of atoms. Democritus theorized that iron atoms are solid with hooks (which locked them in place with each other, therefore creating a solid), water ‘atoms’ are smooth and slippery, (which caused them to be in a liquid state),

Medieval alchemists “invented new ways to isolate, purify, and concentrate substances” (Challenging Limits). The alchemists established the value of analysis, which was fundamental to what became chemistry. First, it was Antonie de Lavoisier who used the techniques to move into the modern age of chemistry. He started by isolating elements and identifying the basic building blocks of nature. Even Humphry Davy was interested in learning the basic building blocks of nature. Until, in 1898, a new element was discovered that drew many questions to scientists. Radium had glowed in the dark and when photographed seemed to be giving off its own energy. At the time, no one knew that the radium was a deadly poison, which harmed human tissue. However, the effect on photographic plates that radium gave allowed humans to discover x-ray scans. These x-ray scans allow us to diagnose and treat diseases. With all of these elements taken into consideration, scientist began to ask themselves, “what are the elements made

However, it was more than the conversion of one metal into another. Alchemy was the science of man's quest to obtain the ultimate spiritual enlightenment. Alchemists believed that if they could make the philosopher's stone, it would bring them to a higher state of being. Alchemists were the forefathers of modern chemistry. They believed that many things impacted upon their formulas. For example, they used astronomy and astrology. They also developed symbolic notation to represent the various elements, metals, and planets and their interactions.

Bohr is well known for his amazing research on the structure of the atom, he thought that maybe the hydrogen atom was based on the quantum theory that energy can only be transferred in one way, and he also thought that E. rutherford model had some problems, so he fixed

He said that elements consisted of identical atoms that had the same mass and that compounds were atoms from different elements combined together. (The Doc.2014)

The Discovery of the Atom first came from the Greeks which made a theory “The idea that all matter is made up of tiny, indivisible particles, or atoms, is believed to have originated with the Greek philosopher Leucippus of Miletus and his student Democritus of Abdera in the 5th century B.C. (The word atom comes from the Greek word atomos, which means “indivisible.”)” (InfoPlease Atomic theory)

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.