History Of Chemistry

"Even though Mendeleev always denied that electrons exist, they later turned out to be vital for ordering the elements in his table."

"By convention (νόμῳ) sweet is sweet, by convention bitter is bitter, by convention hot is hot, by convention cold is cold, by convention color is color. But in reality there are atoms and the void. That is, the objects of sense are supposed to be real and it is customary to regard them as such, but in truth they are not. Only the atoms and the void are real."

"We must not forget that when was discovered no one knew that it would prove useful in hospitals. The work was one of pure science. And this is a proof that scientific work must not be considered from the point of view of the direct usefulness of it. It must be done for itself, for the beauty of science, and then there is always the chance that a scientific discovery may become like the radium a benefit for humanity."

"Chemistry as an earnest and respectable science is often said to date from 1661, when Robert Boyle of Oxford published The Sceptical Chymist — the first work to distinguish between chemists and alchemists — but it was a slow and often erratic transition. Into the eighteenth century scholars could feel oddly comfortable in both camps — like the German Johann Becher, who produced sober and unexceptionable work on mineralogy called Physica Subterranea, but who also was certain that, given the right materials, he could make himself invisible."

"The word chemistry, in Greek should be wrote χημια, and in Latin and English chemia and chemistry; not as usual, chymia and chymistry. The first author in whom the word is found is Plutarch, who lived under the Emperors ', ', and '. That philosopher, in his treatise of ' and ', takes occasion to observe that Egypt, in the sacred dialect of the country, was called by the same name as the black of the eye viz., χημια—by which he seems to intimate that the word chemia in the Egyptian language signified black, and that the country, Egypt, might take its denomination from the blackness of the soil. ...Instead of black, some will have it originally denote secret, or occult; and hence derive it from the Hebrew chaman, or '—a mystery, whose radix is cham. And, accordingly, Plutarch observes that Egypt, in the same sacred dialect, is sometimes wrote in Greek χαμια—chamia; whence the word is easily deduced further from Cham, eldest son of Noah, by whom Egypt was first peopled after the deluge, and from whom, in the Scripture style, it is called the land of Cham, or Chem. Now, that chaman, or haman, properly signifies secret appears from the same Plutarch, who, mentioning an ancient author named Menethes Sibonita, who had asserted that Amman and Hammon were used to denote the god of Egypt, Plutarch takes this occasion to observe that in the Egyptian language anything secret or occult was called by the same name, αμμον—Hammon... Lastly, the learned Bochart, keeping to the same sense of the word, chooses to derive it from the Arabic chema, or kema—to hide; adding that there is an Arabic book of secrets called by the same name Kemi."

"Alkimia Speculativa... treats of the generation of things from their elements, and of all inanimate things—as of the elements and liquids (humores) simple and compound; common stones, gems, and marbles; gold, and other metals; sulphur, salts, pigments, lapis lazuli, minium, and other colours; oils, bitumen, and very many other things—of which we find nothing in the books of Aristotle; nor are the natural philosophers or any of the Latins acquainted with these things. And being ignorant of them, they can know nothing of what follows in physics, that is, of the generation of animate things—as vegetables, animals, and man—because knowing not what is prior, they must remain ignorant of what is posterior. For the generation of men, and of brutes, and of plants, is from elemental and liquid substances, and is of like manner with the generation of inanimate things. Wherefore, through ignorance of this science, neither can natural philosophy... be known, nor the theory, and therefore neither the practice, of medicine; not merely because natural philosophy and theoretical medicine are necessary for the practice, but because all simple medicines are derived from inanimate things by this science."

"[T]he Alchemical Period... may with propriety be called "The Ancient History of Chemistry.""

"The origin of the science of chemistry must... be sought in the art of alchemy. ...[I]n the course of their labours they gained much definite information regarding the properties of metals and other substances, devised the necessary apparatus and processes for chemical operations, and laid a foundation upon which later investigators have built up the modern science."

"[M]any chemical facts, products, and processes have been known from a period considerably earlier than any of which we have a historic record. As a true science... chemistry is only between one and two hundred years old... but... it has been known and practised as an art continuously since prehistoric times. The skilled, and often royal or priestly, artisans handed down its secrets in the shape of workshop traditions, from the earliest ages till the present day..."

"The atomic theory was used by the great physicists of the later Renaissance, by Galileo, Gassendi, Newton and others. ... John Dalton, while trying ...to form a mental presentation of the atmosphere in terms of the theory of atoms, rediscovered the possibility of differences between the sizes of atoms, applied this idea to the facts concerning the quantitative compositions of compounds which had been established by others, developed a method for determining the relative weights of atoms of different kinds, and started chemistry on the course which it has followed so successfully."

"More than two thousand years passed before investigators began to make accurate measurements of the quantities of the substances which take part in those changes wherein certain things seem to be destroyed and other totally different things to be produced; until accurate knowledge had been obtained of the quantities of the definite substances which interact in the transformations of matter, the atomic theory could not do more than draw the outlines of a picture of material changes. A scientific theory has been described as "the likening of our imaginings to what we actually observe." So long as we observe only in the rough, only in a broad and general way, our imaginings must also be rough, broad, and general."

"Another objector urges—"You say the atoms are always moving, yet the things we look at, which you assert to be vast numbers of moving atoms, are often motionless." ...Lucretius answers by an analogy. " And herein you need not wonder at this, that... since they are themselves beyond what you can see, they must withdraw from sight their motion as well; and the more so, that the things which we can see do yet often conceal their motions when a great distance off.""

"Lucretius pictured a solid substance as a vast number of atoms squeezed closely together, a liquid as composed of not so many atoms less tightly packed, and a gas as a comparatively small number of atoms with considerable freedom of motion. Essentially the same picture is presented by the molecular theory of to-day."

"We now know that many compounds exist which are formed by the union of the same quantities by weight of the same elements, and, nevertheless, differ in properties; modern chemistry explains this fact by saying that the properties of a substance depend, not only on the kind of atoms which compose the minute particles of a compound, and the number of atoms of each kind, but also on the mode of arrangement of the atoms. The same doctrine was taught by Lucretius, two thousand years ago. " It often makes a great difference," he said, " with what things, and in what positions the same first beginnings are held in union, and what motions they mutually impart and receive.""

"The first principle in nature is asserted by Lucretius [Concerning the Nature of Things] to be that " Nothing is ever gotten out of nothing.""

"Some of the Greek philosophers who lived four or five hundred years before Christ formed a theory of the transformations of matter, which is essentially the theory held by naturalists to-day. ...Those investigators attempted to connect all the differences which are observed between the qualities of things with differences of size, shape, position, and movement of atoms... unchangeable, indestructible, and impenetrable particles ...not one of them can be destroyed, nor can one be created; when a substance ceases to exist and another is formed, the process is not a destruction of matter, it is a re-arrangement of atoms."

"Observations of the changes which are constantly happening in the sky, and on the earth, must have prompted men long ago to ask whether there are any limits to the changes of things around them. And this question must have become more urgent as working in metals, making colours and dyes, preparing new kinds of food and drink, producing substances with smells and tastes unlike those of familiar objects, and other pursuits like these, made men acquainted with transformations which seemed to penetrate to the very foundations of things."

"The belief in some wonderful connection between planets and metals is due to these ns. The signs of the heavenly bodies became the symbols for the metals. These planets influenced a supposed growth of the metals, and were esteemed all-powerful in regulating human life and fate. Many of these notions are to be attributed to the Alexandrian epoch."

"Ostanes, the Mede, was one of the celebrated early alchemists. Several writers have recorded for us the existence of a book called The Book of the Divine Prescriptions, which seems to have been the most famous writing of these Persian sages."

"The ns, as masters of occult sciences, played an important part at Rome. In much earlier times, the Bible mentions them as the depositaries of all wisdom and science... They were rivals of the Egyptians in knowledge, and were especially famous as astrologers. Many industrial arts were brought to as high perfection in as in Egypt; for instance, the processes of glass-making, of dyeing, and of working in metals. Those Chaldeans who settled in Rome in later years came from Syria and . Tacitus makes mention of them. They were much sought after by the fashionable as the representatives of Eastern religions and mystic doctrines."

"[N]ote the important part played by the number four with the alchemists as well as with the Egyptian priests. There are the four bases or elements, the tetrasomy of ; the four zones, four funeral deities, four cardinal points, four winds, four colors, etc."

"[T]here is a similarity easily detected between the hieroglyphics and the alchemical signs. The phraseology in the early treatises is similar to that in the priestly writings."

"The almost universal tradition among alchemists is that their art was first cultivated among the Egyptians, and that , the Egyptian god of arts and sciences, was its founder. The finding of papyri of a chemical nature in the tombs... lead us to give credence to this tradition... Clement of Alexandria tells us that the knowledge... was restricted to the priests, who were forbidden to communicate it... Plutarch also mentions the strict secrecy observed, and the cloaking... under the guise of fables."

"In... India... knowledge of the extraction of metals, the making of steel, the preparation of colors, and similar technical operations, dates back to the most remote antiquity. They also theorized as to the elements and their number. Their synonym for death was, "man returns to the five elements.""

"[T]he Chinese... had... knowledge of metals, alloys, colors, and salts for a long time, and that they manufactured gun powder and porcelain before they were known in Europe."

"The reason generally assigned for this absence of early records is that burned all writings of the Egyptians bearing upon alchemy, because, as he said, these taught the art of making gold and silver; and, by destroying them, he took away from the Egyptians the power of enriching themselves and rebelling against the Romans."

"No original manuscript of the earliest writers on chemistry or alchemy has been discovered. Our knowledge must be gleaned from the pages of those writing upon other subjects, or must come from fragments handed down to us through several copyists."

"Two difficulties meet one in studying the early history of the science. One is... mysticism... and the other is the custom among the early writers of ascribing their discoveries, books, etc., to fabulous names or ancient heroes and gods. This latter had two objects, the first being to shield the true author in time of persecution, and the second to gain a certain amount of credit and reputation... by the use of the names of such celebrities as Moses, Solomon, Alexander, or Cleopatra. This tendency is especially noticeable among the writers of the Middle Ages, and also the early Greek authors, and is not peculiar to authors of alchemical treatises."

"It is therefore the occult or hidden science, the black art."

"Berthollet's conclusion that chlorine is oxymuriatic acid was universally accepted until Gay-Lussac and Thénard in 1809 endeavoured to decompose the gas and failed. They concluded that it contained water because it yielded water when passed over litharge. Their researches read to the Institute in 1809 led Davy to investigate muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid) gas, which in 1808 he had shown to be decomposed by potassium, with evolution of hydrogen. In 1810 he proved that chlorine is an element, and that muriatic acid gas is a compound of chlorine and hydrogen. He thus overturned the oxygen-acid theory, and demonstrated that muriates are compounds of metals with chlorine. He pointed to the fact that some acids, such as sulphuretted hydrogen, contain no oxygen, and argued that muriatic acid gas was one of these, chlorine in it taking the place of oxygen. ...The conclusions of Davy were at first doubted, but when iodine and bromine were also discovered, Gay-Lussac and his followers adopted Davy's views. The latter worked out fluorine, and proved that hydrofluoric acid (HF) contains no oxygen. Berzelius also opposed Davy until the discovery of iodine, but embraced the latter's opinion in 1820."

"Davy held that if the battery is strong enough any compound may be decomposed, and that chemical affinity is merely a form of electric attraction. He vigorously put his theory into practice..."

"The Greeks were no chemists. The bent of their mind was not towards natural science; few observations or experiments were made by them, and they preferred to argue from general principles to particulars, rather than from particular observations to general principles."

"Anaximenes regarded air as the primal element... According to Anaximenes, clouds are caused by the condensation of air, and rain by the condensation of clouds."

"Archelaus said that air, when rarefied, became fire; when condensed, water; and water, when boiled, became air."

"Empedokles introduced the idea of four distinct elements, — earth, air, fire, and water, — which were not interchangeable, but formed all things by mixing."

"Anaxagoras of Klazomene (500 b.c) seems to have been the first of the Greeks to formulate a theory approaching the atomic. This was more clearly expressed by Leukippos and extended by Demokritos. Long before the time of any of these, however, the idea seems to have been conceived in India."

"The following quotation from [Roger Bacon's] treatise "Speculum Secretorum" will serve to give his ideas as to the transmutation of the metals : "To wish to transform one kind into the other, as to make silver out of lead, or gold out of copper, is as absurd as to pretend to create anything out of nothing. The true alchemists never held such a pretence. What is the real problem? The problem is, first, by means of art, to remove from a rough, earthy mineral a bright metallic substance, like lead, tin, or copper. But that is only the first step towards perfection; and the chemist's work must not stop there, for, besides that, he must look for some means of getting the other metals, which are always present in the bowels of the earth in an adulterated condition. For example, the most perfect is gold, which one always finds in the native state. Gold is perfect, because in it nature finished her work. It is necessary, then, to imitate nature; but here a grave difficulty presents itself. Nature does not count the cycles which she takes for her work, to which the term of life of a man is but as an hour. It is, then, important to find some means which will permit one to do in a little time that which nature does in a very much longer time. It is this means which the alchemists call, indifferently, the elixir, the philosopher's stone, etc.""

"Roger Bacon... subjected organic substances to , and noticed that inflammable gases were produced; and he showed that air was necessary for the burning of a lamp. He was an ardent supporter of the belief in the transmutation of the metals, and related some very wonderful things as to the power of the philosopher's stone. ...he drew direct from Albertus Magnus and the Arabians."

"He [Roger Bacon] collected the facts known to the alchemists before his time, and followed Geber closely in many things. He knew of gun powder, but speaks of it obscurely. According to some he mentions saltpetre and sulphur by name as two constituents, and the third constituent under the anagram luru mone capubre, which is convertible into carbonum pulvere. He probably got this knowledge from some Arabic source. ...Gunpowder was first used by the English at the battle of Crecy, more than fifty years after the death of Bacon."

"Roger Bacon['s]... success... brought with it the reputation of being in league with the devil, and he was severely persecuted while at Oxford. He did not in this have the good fortune of Albertus Magnus, or lacked his skill and tact. He replied to his accusers by a strong tract, "De Nullitate Magice" in which he showed that no such thing as magic could exist, and that what his accusers thought were the work of spirits were but ordinary operations of nature. Still, in spite of his arguments, he was imprisoned ten years. ...His chief writings were : — 1. "'." In this his high appreciation is shown of the experimental method and the inductive philosophy, afterwards advocated by his namesake, Francis Bacon. 2. "Speculum Alchymim." 3. "Breve Breviarium de Dono Dei.""

"Thomas Aquinas... was a favorite pupil of Albertus Magnus... He was devoted to mathematics and at the same time was a great alchemist. He... wrote several books on alchemy, all of which are obscure and unintelligible. His chief treatise was the "Most Secret Treasure of Alchemy." He wrote on the making of artificial gems, and, according to some, was the first to make use of the term amalgam for alloys containing mercury."

"[Magnus] was a diligent and successful worker, and added many chemical facts to those known by Geber, as, for instance, the purification of gold, the preparation of arsenic, etc."

"Albertus Magnus lectured in , and great numbers of students flocked to hear him. He skilfully managed to escape the persecution which befell so many of his brother monks who dabbled in the occult art, and was high in the odor of sanctity. His principal writings were the following: "De Rebus Metallicis et Mineralibus;" "De Alchymia;" "Secretorum Tractatus;" "Breve Compendium de Ortu Metallorum;" "Concordantia;" "Philosophorum de Lapide." ...He was the first to use the term "affinitas" to designate the cause of the combination of the metals with sulphur and other elements. The term "" was also first used by him. He regarded the transmutation of the metals as an assured possibility. He did not regard the metals as distinctly differing substances, but varieties of the same species. "The metals are all essentially identical; they differ only in form. Now, the form brings out accidental causes, which the experimenter must try to discover and remove, as far as possible. Accidental causes impede the regular union of sulphur and mercury; for every metal is a combination of sulphur and mercury. A diseased womb may give birth to a weakly, leprous child, although the seed was good; the same is true of the metals which are generated in the bowels of the earth, which is a womb for them; any cause whatever, or local trouble, may produce an imperfect metal. When pure sulphur comes in contact with pure mercury, after more or less time, and by the permanent action of nature, gold is produced." His views are in the main those of Geber, though he adds water to mercury and sulphur as one of the constituents of the metals."

"Albertus Magnus... was the first eminent German chemist. ...He and his pupil, Thomas Aquinas, are said to have constructed a brazen statue which he animated with his elixir vitœ. It was capable of walking, talking, etc., like a living being, and was very useful as a servant. It was unfortunately very talkative and noisy. It one day so enraged Thomas Aquinas, by constantly interrupting him while he was deeply engaged with mathematical problems, that he took a hammer and broke it in pieces. Of course this is a fanciful account of a noisily creaking automaton, made by these two..."

"The characteristics of the age were a shameful mental imprisonment and caging of the human reason. Free striving for higher light, or criticism of accepted authorities, was looked upon as high treason to the Holy Church, and punished by the Inquisition. Those who dared to think clearly for themselves, wrote mysteriously for their fellows as a measure of safety."

"From the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries... decadence of the Moorish power in Europe was... rapid. ...The Arabs... were driven from Spain, and Bagdad was conquered by the Mongols. There was a decline, and then almost complete cessation from literary work. Still, for some centuries... [t]heir writings were translated into Latin and other languages, and formed the chief treasures of medical and scientific men. Their modes of thought and work were often imitated by their monkish successors."

"This History has been written because of a conviction, from my own experience and experience with my students, that one of the best aids to an intelligent comprehension of the science of chemistry is the study of the long struggle, the failures, and the triumphs of the men who have made this science for us."

"In the beginning of the twelfth century Averrhoes attained prominence as a physician and chemist."

"Avenzoar (eleventh century), a Spanish physician, is quoted as making some additions to the knowledge of medicinal preparations."

"Avicenna... [exerted] the same influence over medicine that Geber did over chemistry. He was called the Prince of Physicians, and as an authority ranked next to Aristotle and Galen. ...He was the author of the "Canones Medieincœ," a work which was translated into many languages, and was the standard medical authority for several centuries. ...He divided minerals (chemical compounds) into: 1. Infusible minerals; 2. Fusible and malleable (metals); 3. Sulphurous minerals; 4. Salts. There was little that was original in the canons of Avicenna, the matter coming mainly from the works of Galen and Aristotle, but there was a clear and orderly arrangement..."