Leucippus and Democritus were two of the most important theorists about the natural and physical world

elements and the techniques developed by other civilizations. Alchemists tried to play with the
• they were called physicists in Ancient Greece balance of the four elements (fire, water, air, earth) and three principles (salt, sulfur and mercury) to
• they considered the idea of atomism transform or transmute substances. Among their aims was to try and transform “impure” or “base” metals
ATOMISM like lead or iron into the “purer” metals of silver or gold, discover a magical “Philosopher’sStone,” and
Atoms make up most of the things in the universe; where there are no atoms, there is a void. produce the so-called “Elixir of Life.”
• Atoms are incredibly small and cannot be divided, hence atomos (uncuttable).
• Atoms themselves are solid, homogeneous and cannot change.
• Atoms moving about and colliding in the void cause the changes we see in our universe.
• The shapes, sizes and weights of individual atoms influence the characteristics of the thing they make up.
Anaxagoras
He is a philosopher that argued that there was an infinite number of elementary natural substances in the form of
infinitesimally small particles that combined to comprise the different things in the universe.
Empedocles
He is a philosopher who stated that everything is made up of four eternal and unchanging kinds of matter fire, air
(all gases), water (all liquids and metals) and earth (all solids).
Plato
Each of the four kinds of matter is composed of geometrical solids (“Platonic solids”) further divisible into triangles.
Aristotle
Protoscience - An unscientific field of study which later developed into real science (e.g. astrology toward astronomy
The four elements could be balanced in substances in an infinite number of ways, and that when combined gave and alchemy toward chemistry). also called “emerging science” or “near science”
proportions of “essential qualities,” hot, dry, cold and wet. Transformations between the four elements caused
changes in the universe. Pseudoscience- consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that are claimed to be scientific and factual, in the
absence of evidence gathered and constrained by appropriate scientific methods.
Growth of ALCHEMY across different civilizations
Alchemy: Lead Into Gold
ALCHEMY - a science that was used in the Middle Ages with the goal of changing ordinary metals into gold. From Alchemy is both a philosophy and a practice with an aim of achieving ultimate wisdom as well as
the Arabic/Greek alkīmiyā or “the art of transmuting” immortality, involving the improvement of the alchemist as well as the making of several substances
Mesopotamians described as possessing unusual properties. The practical aspect of alchemy generated the basics of
 had techniques to utilize metals like gold and copper modern inorganic chemistry, namely concerning procedures, equipment and the identification and use of
many current substances.
 assigned certain symbols to match metals with the heavenly bodies such as the Sun and Moon
The fundamental ideas of alchemy are said to have arisen in the ancient Persian Empire. Alchemy has
 made use of other materials such as dyes, glass, paints, and perfumes. been practised in Mesopotamia (comprising much of today's Iraq), Egypt, Persia (today's Iran), India,
Egyptians China, Japan, Korea and in Classical Greece and Rome, in the Muslim civilizations, and then in Europe
• adapted techniques from the Mesopotamians and perfected the use of bronze, dye and glass that the Greeks up to the 20th century, in a complex network of schools and philosophical systems spanning at least 2500
later copied. years. The best-known goals of the alchemists were the transmutation of common metals into gold (called
Chinese chrysopoeia) or silver (less well known is plant alchemy, or "spagyric"); the creation of a "panacea", or the
• had their own processes for metalwork and ceramic materials elixir of life, a remedy that, it was supposed, would cure all diseases and prolong life indefinitely; and the
• focused on finding minerals, plants and substances that could prolong life discovery of a universal solvent. Although these were not the only uses for the discipline, they were the
ones most documented and well-known. Certain Hermetic schools argue that the transmutation of lead
• Some of the substances discovered in Chinese medicine have been found to have actual positive effects while into gold is analogical for the transmutation of the physical body (Saturn or lead) into Solar energy (gold)
others were found useless or even harmful, like mercury. with the goal of attaining immortality. This is described as Internal Alchemy. Starting with the Middle Ages,
Indians Arabic and European alchemists invested much effort in the search for the "philosopher's stone", a
• like the Chinese, had a kind of alchemy (rasayana) that looked at different substances and practices for Vedic legendary substance that was believed to be an essential ingredient for either or both of those goals. Lead
medicine. This is tied closely to Hindu and Buddhist beliefs. (atomic number 82) and gold (atomic number 79) are defined as elements by the number of protons they
• perfected the use of iron and steel possess. Changing the element requires changing the atomic (proton) number. The number of protons
• well-known manufacturers of dyes, glass, cement, solutions for textiles, and soap. cannot be altered by any chemical means. However, physics may be used to add or remove protons and
thereby change one element into another. Because lead is stable, forcing it to release three protons
Arabs and Muslims
requires a vast input of energy, such that the cost of transmuting it greatly surpasses the value of the
• enriched not only the practice but also the literature of chemistry.
resulting gold. Transmutation of lead into gold isn't just theoretically possible - it has been achieved..
Jabir Ibn-Hayyan
There are reports that Glenn Seaborg, 1951 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, succeeded in transmuting a
a scholar, also “Geber” and translated the practices and Aristotelian thinking of the Greeks and wrote extensively minute quantity of lead (possibly en route from bismuth, in 1980) into gold. There is an earlier report
on how metals can be purified. He came up with the preparation of acids such as nitric, hydrochloric and sulfuric (1972) in which Soviet physicists at a nuclear research facility near Lake Baikal in Siberia accidentally
acids, as well as aqua regia (nitro-hydrochloric acid). discovered a reaction for turning lead into gold when they found the lead shielding of an experimental
ALCHEMY IN WESTERN WORLD reactor had changed to gold.
The field of alchemy became popular in the Western world because of Aristotle’s ideas on the