WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: How Did Alchemy Create Chemistry?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Bogelbaum here with a classic episode of the podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>In this one, we delve into how the partially magical

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<v Speaker 1>or spiritual study of alchemy, over the course of the

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<v Speaker 1>second half of the second millennium ce slowly morphed into

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<v Speaker 1>the scientific field of chemistry that we know today.

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<v Speaker 2>Hey Brainstuff, Lauren bogelbaumb here with a question. When you

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<v Speaker 2>think of alchemy, do you imagine wizards brewing up concoctions

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<v Speaker 2>of bat wings and blood? Historians? What have you reconsider?

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<v Speaker 1>Most researchers see alchemy not as fodder for fantasy stories

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<v Speaker 1>and wickan ceremonies, but as the forerunner of modern science,

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<v Speaker 1>particularly chemistry. Some of these people might have been among

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<v Speaker 1>the best scientific minds of their eras blazing trails that

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<v Speaker 1>led to scientific insights all over the world.

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<v Speaker 2>Alchemy was, at its core, a way for inquisitive minds

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<v Speaker 2>to explore the way the world worked, attempting to decipher

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<v Speaker 2>nature's functions and leverage them for various purposes. To achieve

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<v Speaker 2>those ends, alchemists theorized it was necessary to purify the body, spirit,

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<v Speaker 2>and mind. People who practiced alchemy were searching for ways

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<v Speaker 2>to a produce elixirs which would hopefully cure all kinds

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<v Speaker 2>of diseases and b turn base metals like lead into

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<v Speaker 2>precious ones like gold via some yet to be found

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<v Speaker 2>substance called the Philosopher's Stone. We spoke via email with

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<v Speaker 2>Peter Maxwell Stuart, who teaches history at the University of

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<v Speaker 2>Saint Andrew's in Scotland. He explained the Chinese were particularly

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<v Speaker 2>interested in the first search, the Western Europeans in the second.

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<v Speaker 2>From the first centuries CE, China and India were practicing

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<v Speaker 2>a form of alchemy. Europeans widely practiced alchemy during the

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<v Speaker 2>Middle Ages, which was roughly one thousand CE through fifteen

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<v Speaker 2>hundred CE, though the practice continued afterwards, waning through the

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<v Speaker 2>eighteen hundreds but extending all the way into the twentieth century,

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<v Speaker 2>thanks in part to beliefs that ultimately went back to

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<v Speaker 2>Aristotle and the Greek philosophers. Alchemists thought that nature was

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<v Speaker 2>always striving to perfect itself, and since gold was considered

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<v Speaker 2>the perfect metal in part because it doesn't rust or tarnish,

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<v Speaker 2>it was regarded as the end all be all of metals.

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<v Speaker 2>There was an idea that because it was so perfect,

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<v Speaker 2>all other metals would eventually turn into gold given enough time,

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<v Speaker 2>due to some unknown natural process. So the alchemist was

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<v Speaker 2>seeking to speed up this natural process in the laboratory.

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<v Speaker 2>Maxwell Stewart said, given the basic assumptions of their belief systems,

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<v Speaker 2>the alchemist's endeavors were entirely rational. Theoretically, too, alchemical experimentation

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<v Speaker 2>might give an insight into God's intentions in creating the universe,

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<v Speaker 2>the way he did with their boiling cauldrons and intricate crucibles. Alchemists,

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<v Speaker 2>who were predominantly but not exclusively men, exhibited a willingness

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<v Speaker 2>to experiment, a trial and error mentality that explored multiple

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<v Speaker 2>disciplines in hope of illuminating nature's intricacies. Through on a

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<v Speaker 2>scholarship and research, alchemists tinkered with chemical processes like dies

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<v Speaker 2>and perfumes, and of course also found ways to change

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<v Speaker 2>the properties of various alloys. One didn't attend any kind

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<v Speaker 2>of university to learn these skills. Instead, the knowledge of

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<v Speaker 2>master alchemists was transferred to apprentices under a shroud of secrecy.

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<v Speaker 2>Because that knowledge was so powerful, alchemists wrote in obscure symbols,

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<v Speaker 2>codes and metaphors to protect their ideas and insights. Despite

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<v Speaker 2>all the mystery, not all the experiments were bogus. One

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<v Speaker 2>Lawrence Principe, a chemist and science historian at Johns Hopkins University,

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<v Speaker 2>decided to recreate a medieval alchemy experiment, one that he

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<v Speaker 2>hoped would conjure a philosopher's tree, a structure that was

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<v Speaker 2>thought to be a precursor to the philosopher's stone. He

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<v Speaker 2>blended gold and mercury into a flask, which he then

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<v Speaker 2>placed under warm sand in his lab. Days later, he

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<v Speaker 2>was astonished to see that the recipe had in fact worked,

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<v Speaker 2>generating a golden tree like structure that would have undoubtedly

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<v Speaker 2>drawn even more awe. Centuries ago, these kinds of wonders

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<v Speaker 2>may not have been possible if not for the work

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<v Speaker 2>of countless alchemists of yore, who often used techniques like

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<v Speaker 2>sublimation and distillation that would be familiar to any modern chemist.

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<v Speaker 2>Swiss physician Paracelsus was one famous alchemist from the sixteenth century.

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<v Speaker 2>Part prophet, part metallurgist, part doctor, he became known as

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<v Speaker 2>the world's first toxicologist because he realized the correlation between

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<v Speaker 2>dosage and toxicity that poisons in small doses might be

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<v Speaker 2>helpful to humans, while larger doses could be fatal. In

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<v Speaker 2>his work, Paracelsus gave rise to the concept of making

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<v Speaker 2>clinical medical diagnoses and then treating conditions with specific medicines.

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<v Speaker 2>During the seventeenth century, British inventor, philosopher and scientist Robert

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<v Speaker 2>Boyle wished to find the secret of the Philosopher's Stone, which,

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<v Speaker 2>in the alchemic tradition, was the most powerful force in nature.

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<v Speaker 2>That power, he thought was a key to the secrets

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<v Speaker 2>of the universe. Although Boyle is best known today for

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<v Speaker 2>pioneering the scientific method and for the law named after him,

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<v Speaker 2>he was enamored with alchemy all.

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<v Speaker 1>Of his life.

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<v Speaker 2>Boyle's law, by the way, says that the volume of

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<v Speaker 2>a gas varies inversely with pressure. At the same time,

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<v Speaker 2>Boyle was hard at work. Isaac Newton, that guy who

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<v Speaker 2>gave shape to the laws of gravity and optics, was

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<v Speaker 2>actively involved in alchemy for decades. He pursued alchemic secrets

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<v Speaker 2>that he felt were perhaps even more fundamental than gravity.

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<v Speaker 2>He hoped that in teasing out the chemical and mineral

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<v Speaker 2>makeup of the world, scientists could perhaps find the one

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<v Speaker 2>true essence of nature, thereby wielding immense power. With its

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<v Speaker 2>roots divided between philosophical, religious, mystical, and scientific pursuits, alchemy

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<v Speaker 2>eventually ran into the buzzsaw of rational thinking that developed

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<v Speaker 2>during the Age of Enlightenment. Its secret of tendencies drew

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<v Speaker 2>suspicions from the government and the church, and its associations

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<v Speaker 2>with the occult didn't help e there As such, alchemy

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<v Speaker 2>faded into obscurity, leaving behind a reputation colored by charlatanism

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<v Speaker 2>and quackery. It's no wonder that ancient peoples first gaped

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<v Speaker 2>at the perceived power of alchemists, and later, as more

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<v Speaker 2>refined signice methods took hold, began to mock them. But

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<v Speaker 2>with their legitimate chemical experimentations and applications, alchemists had already

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<v Speaker 2>made their mark, paving the way for modern chemistry. Maxwell

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<v Speaker 2>Stewart said experimentation almost inevitably resulted in the discovery of

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<v Speaker 2>various substances hitherto either unknown or not understood. Phosphorus is

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<v Speaker 2>an obvious example, and so that aspect of alchemy leads

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<v Speaker 2>into modern chemistry. One particularly famous aspect of that chemistry

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<v Speaker 2>is distillation, including distilling alcohol from sugary bruise into wine

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<v Speaker 2>or beer and then into liquors. Today's episode is based

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<v Speaker 2>on the article how Alchemy Paved the Way for Chemistry

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<v Speaker 2>on HowStuffWorks dot Com, written by Nathan Chandler. Brain Stuff

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<v Speaker 2>is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with how Stuffworks dot.

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<v Speaker 1>Com was produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts from

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