Alchemy

It is generally accepted that alchemy began in China around 140 BC. In 1144, it appeared in Europe hy way of translations made in Spain from Arabic works Partington asserts that the Arabic name alchemy is merely the Alexandrian-Greek chemeia with the Arabic definite article al prefixed. Both Roger Bacon and Albert the Great (Albertus Magnus) wrote about it in 1250.  

640 AD, Egypt was conquered by the Arabs, who with the help of learned Greeks, Syrians, and Persians living under their rule made translations of Egyptian books on chemistry (which were written in Greek) into Arabic [cited in J.R. Partington, A Short History of Chemistry, 3rd ed., p. 27, Dover Publications, New York (1989)]. 

Partington, A Short History of Chemistry, 3rd ed., pp. 34 40, Dover Publications, New York 

The teachings of Aristotle and events in Egypt, India, China, and Mesopotamia stimulated the practice of alchemy. The early roots of alchemy, which was practiced for nearly two thousand years, are difficult to trace because much of the practice was shrouded in mystery and transmitted by oral tradition. The two main goals of the alchemists were to produce gold from base metals and to develop potions that would confer health and even immortality. The alchemists were crafts people who combined serious experimentation with astrology, incantations, and magic in hopes of finding the philosopher s stone. 

The early center of alchemy was the intellectual capital of ancient Greece, Alexandria. Very little remains of the original alchemical manuscripts from ancient Greece. The rise of Christianity and concerns about disrupting the economy eventually led the Roman Emperor Diocletian to 

The period between a.d. 700 and 1100 was the peak of the Arab Empire. The vast geographic expanse of the Arab influence meant that a great variety of materials were available and that there was ample opportunity for the cross-fertilization of knowledge. Several individuals from this period had a 

Al-Razi (Rhazes, 854-925) was a Persian who studied in Baghdad. Al-Razi wrote extensively on medicine, philosophy, astronomy, and alchemy, but he was primarily a physician. Al-Razi was less mystical than his contemporary alchemists and classified chemicals by their origin. According to Al-Razi, chemicals came from either animals, plants, and minerals or were derived from other chemicals. Al-Razi wrote The Comprehensive Book, which was an enormous medical encyclopedia that synthesized medical practices of ancient Greeks, Syrians, Arabs, and Persians. Al-Razi was the first person known to describe the disease smallpox. Most of his alchemical writings have been lost, but Al-Razi believed in the atomic nature of matter. Al-Razi took a systematic approach to science and rejected the idea of divine intervention. His rational methods and descriptions were more consistent with modern science than most individuals of his time. Ali al Husayn ibn Sina (Avicenna, 980-1037) was another Persian physician whose voluminous works, including The 

Canon of Medicine, guided the practice of medicine for 500 years after his death. Avicenna rejected the idea that a base metal could be transformed into gold. Avicenna claimed correctly that diseases were spread through air and water. Much of Avicenna s teachings questioned the status quo and teachings of Aristotle. 

The first laboratory workers were alchemists, and their principal goal was the conversion of base metals into gold. Alchemy was first practised in Alexandria, and the Hellenistic phase of alchemy lasted until the seventh century AD, when the dramatic expansion of Islam occurred. For the next 500 years the chief practitioners of alchemy came from the world of Islam. Then, in the twelfth century, when Islamic power was in decline, Arabic alchemical manuscripts began to be translated into Latin, and the European phase of alchemy began. The art was practised in Europe for the next 500 years, before entering a slow decline. 

Western alchemy was the prelude to modem chemistry, but alchemy was also practised in China from before 175 BC to around AD 1000. It is almost certain that Islamic alchemy incorporated some ideas that originated in China. 

Chemistry is indebted to alchemy for the development of many laboratory techniques. With the aid of these techniques, some important substances were isolated, for example ethanol and the mineral acids. Although these discoveries were made at a time when alchemy was still practised, there is no evidence that they occurred in the course of a quest for gold. The only well-attested case of an important discovery being made during alchemical research was the isolation of phosphoms by Hennig Brand in 1669. 

For many centuries before Alexandria was founded, Egypt had produced craftsmen whose skill in making objects of gold, silver and precious stones was unrivalled. The fabulous treasure found in the tomb of Tutankhamun, a relatively insignificant Pharaoh who died in 1352 BC at the age of eighteen, is evidence of this fact. 

Egyptian craftsmen were also proficient at producing imitation gold and in giving articles a golden surface. Such techniques are somewhat similar in their effects to our modem practice of electroplating. In neither case is there necessarily any attempt to deceive. 

National Research Council (1991). Rethinking the Ozone Problem in Urban and Regional Air Pollution. Washington, DC National Academy Press. 

Environmental Protection Agency (1999). National Air Quality and Emissions Trends Report, 1999. EPA 454/R-01-004. Washington, DC U.S. Government Printing Office. Also available from http //www.epa.gov/oar/aqtrnd99/ . 

The alchemy laboratory In Powder Tower, Prague, which was used circa 1585 by John Dee and Edward Kelley. 

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Perturbation theory is also used to calculate free energy differences between distinct systems by computer simulation. This computational alchemy is accomplished by the use of a switching parameter X, ranging from zero to one, that transfonns tire Hamiltonian of one system to the other. The linear relation... 

Inductive learning has been the major process of acquiring chemical knowledge from the very beginnings of chemistry - or, to make the point, alchemy. Chemists have done experiments, have made measurements on the properties of their compounds, have treated them with other compounds to study their reactions, and have run reactions to make new compounds. Systematic variations in the structure of compounds, or in reaction conditions, provided results that were ordered by developing models. These models then allowed predictions to be made. 

Nomenclature is the compilation of descriptions of things and technical terms in a special field of knowledge, the vocabulary ofa technical language. In the history of chemistry, a systematic nomenclature became significant only rather late. In the early times of alchemy, the properties of the substance or its appearance played a major role in giving a compound a name. Libavius was the first person who tried to fix some kind of nomenclature in Alckeinia in 1,597. In essence, he gave names to chemical equipment and processes (methods, names that are often still valid in our times. 

Name/ version Alchemy 2000 V2.0 ACD/ Chems-ketch 5.0 Chem- Drauf 7.0.1 Chemsite 3.01 Chemistry 4D Draw 6.0 Chem Window 6.0 Isis/Drow Z4 CACTVS 3.176 ACD/SDA 1.30 jehem- Paint7 V1.Zpre JME Mervin 2.10.5 ... 

The investigation of molecular structures and of their properties is one of the most fascinating topics in chemistry. Chemistry has a language of its own for molecular structures which has been developed from the first alchemy experiments to modem times. With the improvement of computational methods for chemical information processing, several descriptors for the handling of molecular information have been developed and used in a wide range of applications. 

It was in the great school of Alexandria that these separate paths came together and eventually led to the alchemy and iatrochemistry of future generations and, eventually, the chemistry of modern science. 

This is not the place to discuss the frequently reviewed historical and philosophical aspects of alchemy, but it is worthwhile to recall some rather late adherence to the precepts of alchemy by giants of the human intellectual endeavor. Johann Wolfgang Goethe is best known for his poetry and literature as the author of Faust. Tie himself, however, considered some of his major achievements to be in science. His interests were varied but also related to chemistry. He developed an early interest in alchemy, which, however, he overcame in later life. Goethe s classic character Faust reflects his fascination with the alchemist s effort to produce gold but eventually recognizes its futility and failure. 

In the earlier part of the sixteenth century Paracelsus gave a new direction to alchemy by declaring that its true object was not the making of gold but the preparation of medicines. This union of chemistry with medieine was one characteristic goal of iatrochemists, of whom he was the predeeessor. The search for the elixir of life had usually... 

Tripos is a force field created at Tripos Inc. for inclusion in the Alchemy and SYBYL programs. It is sometimes called the SYBYL force field. Tripos is... 

Alchemy 2000 (we tested Version 2.05) is a graphic interface for running molecular mechanics and semiempirical calculations. Calculations can be done with the built-in Tripos force field or by calling the MM3 or MOPAC programs, which are included with the package. Alchemy is designed by Tripos and sold by SciVision. 

In the days of alchemy and the phlogiston theory, no system of nomenclature that would be considered logical ia the 1990s was possible. Names were not based on composition, but on historical association, eg, Glauber s salt for sodium sulfate decahydrate and Epsom salt for magnesium sulfate physical characteristics, eg, spirit of wiae for ethanol, oil of vitriol for sulfuric acid, butter of antimony for antimony trichloride, Hver of sulfur for potassium sulfide, and cream of tartar for potassium hydrogen tartrate or physiological behavior, eg, caustic soda for sodium hydroxide. Some of these common or trivial names persist, especially ia the nonchemical Hterature. Such names were a necessity at the time they were iatroduced because the concept of molecular stmcture had not been developed, and even elemental composition was incomplete or iadeterminate for many substances. 

G. T. Seaborg, "Transuranium Elements, Products of Modem Alchemy," Benchmark Papers in Physical Chemisty and Chemical Physics, Vol. 1, Dowden, Hutchison Ross, Stroudsburg, Pa., 1978. 

The word alcohol, like alchemy, has its origins in the Middle East. The Arabs are said to have made cosmetic paints by heating and vaporizing a mixture of compounds. The residue was used to paint eyeUds and called "kohl." When they later heated wines, they gave the product the same name as the cosmetic "kohl" or "al kohl." The word whiskey is said to be derived from the Celtic "uisge baugh" or "water of life."... 

Sir Isaac Newton spent much of his life pursuing an elusive dream, the transmutation of base materials into gold. Though he was not successful during his lifetime, he did manage to discover the equations of motion that, tliree centuries later, make alchemy possible on a computer. To perfonn this feat, Newton s equations need only be supplemented by the modem technology of free energy simulations. 

TP Straatsma, JA McCammon. Computational alchemy. Annu Rev Phys Chem 43 407-430,... 

Dalai, S., Balasubramanian, S., Regan, L. Protein alchemy changing p sheet into a helix. Nature Struct. Biol. 

Phone -K 800 ALCHEMY E-mail nationaI aIphachisigma.org Web site www.alphachisigma.org... 

Molecular mechanics simulations use the laws of classical physics to predict the structures and properties of molecules. Molecular mechanics methods are available in many computer programs, including MM3, HyperChem, Quanta, Sybyl, and Alchemy. There are many different molecular mechanics methods. Each one is characterized by its particular/orce eW. A force field has these components ... 

G. T. Seaborg (ed.), Transuranium Elements Products of Modem Alchemy, Dowden, Hutchinson Ross, Stroudsburg, 1978. This reproduces, in their original form, 122 key papers in the story of man-made elements. 

Hermesfinger, m. (Pharm.) hermodactyl. hermetisch, a. hermetic. — hermetische Wis-senschaft, hermetic science, alchemy, hemach, adv. afterwards, hereafter, then. 

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