CM8003 From Alchemy to Chemistry

Assoc. Professor Tan Howe Siang

SPMS-CBC-03-06. howesiang@ntu.edu.sg

Reference Book: Transforming Matter. A history of Chemistry from

Alchemy to Buckyball
Videos to watch, and short papers to read.
One midterm (40%) [March 15th 2016]
You MUST sit for the midterms even if you have gotten waivers for
timetable clash
Final exam (60%).
Pass/Fail only (No contribution to your GPA)
Midterms and final exam will consist of MCQ and short questions
(not confirmed). Details will confirmed later
 Contents
Introduction: Key ideas of modern day chemistry
Alchemy: Ancient china. Greece and Near east. Islamic.
Medieval Europe
17th century: Origins of modern chemistry
Lavoisier and the chemical revolution
The (re)-birth of atomic theory
Modern views of molecules.
Periodic table
Classical Physics and Chemistry
Quantum mechanics and the 20th century chemistry
Present day and beyond
 Chemistry Today
To talk about the history of chemistry, we
need to know first what is the present state of
chemistry. What are the key ideas in
chemistry?
How did these key ideas get developed
through the ages?
 Key ideas in Todays Chemistry
Approximately 100 elements makes up our world
Elements are made up of atoms. Atoms consist of
electrons and nucleus (protons and neutrons)
How electrons are arranged in the atoms affect its
chemical properties: Periodicity
Chemical bonds arises when atoms share electrons
Arrangement of how atoms join to form molecules
determines properties
Molecules change by atoms rearrangements : Chemical
reaction
Elements: The periodic table
 Elements
All matter is made up of elements or
combinations of them (Compounds).

Diamond = Carbon, an element

Carbon dioxide CO2.

a compound

Polyethylene terphthalate
(PET) Plastic. A polymer
compound (C10H8O4)n
 Elements
of course, not all the elements have similar abundance
The universe as a whole: Hydrogen and helium 74% and 24%

Earth Crust Human Body

 To us the elements seem very different: gas like hydrogen, solid metal like iron,
liquid metal like mercury, crystals like diamond carbon.

Chlorine
uranium

Sodium

gold

Carbon (diamond) Mercury

Oxygen (liquid)
Silicon
 atom
All these 100 elements, seemingly different are
actually very similar.
They are all composed of indivisible units called
atoms
Example: 197g of gold contains 6.021023 gold
atoms; 12g of diamond(carbon) contains 6.021023
Carbon atoms. (1 mole = 6.021023)
 atom
The basic unit of the element is the atom
Diamond = Carbon, an element
 atom
it is only in 1981 that we can actually see atoms. Its pretty
amazing that mankind figured that out quite a while ago before
that

Fe atoms arranged in a ring

Individual Gold atoms (IBM)
observed by a scanning
tunneling microscope
Arrangement of electrons in atoms
Why are different elements different from
each other?
Why are some elements more similar and
some more different?
Electrons are placed in orbitals. From inner
core orbitals to outside valence orbitals. 1s
2s 3s 3p 3detc By and large, only the
electrons in the valence orbaitals determines
chemical properties: Periodicity Periodic
Table
Elements
 Chemical bonds
Our complex world is mainly made up of
matter made up of atoms (same or different)
strongly linked to one another by chemical
bonds
How atoms arrange to become molecules of
different sizes and complexities determines its
properties
 Chemical bonds & molecules

Water molecule: two hydrogen atoms

covelently bonded to an oxygen atom.

Hydrogen bonds between the water

molecules give the water its many unique
properties
 Chemical bonds & molecules

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecule.

The molecule of Life.
Different ways of Carbon atoms covalent
bonding to each other give rise to different
allotropes (and different properties)
 Chemical reactions
Compounds changes: atoms rearrange. Bond
breaks and bond forms.

A reaction when you light up your gas cooker at home. Methane gas reacts
with Oxygen molecules to give you carbon dioxide, water and heat (hence
fire)
 Essential physical theories
Thermodynamics: Conservation of
energy, universe is always getting
more disordered (Entropy)etc
Quantum mechanics: Wave
nature of particles
 Key ideas in Todays Chemistry
Approximately 100 elements makes up our world
Elements are made up of atoms. Atoms consist of
electrons and nucleus (protons and neutrons)
How electrons are arranged in the atoms affect its
chemical properties: Periodicity
Chemical bonds arises when atoms share electrons
Arrangement of how atoms join to form molecules
determines properties
Molecules change by atoms rearrangements : Chemical
reaction
 Key ideas in Todays Chemistry
Approximately 100 elements makes up our world

This is the key idea, from which all the other

ideas followed
Since ancient times, people have wondered what
are the basic ingredients of the physical world
and how to modify them to our own use
How did that eventually evolved to be the
modern science of Chemistry ?
After 15th century. West: Renaissance, age of Reason, enlightenment, industrial
revolutionetc History of Chemistry concentrates in the West (mainly Europe, later
includes the America as well)
Digression:
500-1400.
World History in 10 minutes
Europe
lapse into
dark age.
Intellectual Silk Road, Invasion of
heritage in Mongols. Transfer of
hibernation. knowledge
Regained
slowly from
the Islamic
civilization

Rise of Islam 6th century.

Baghdad, Damascus,
Chinese civilization since
RomanEmpire (Greco Alexandria. Cordoba. Tang, Song and Mongol
2100BC. Zhou dynasty &
Ancient Greece:
Roman500BC to 250BC.
world). WesternTook over Greek-RomanWarring Empires. Gunpowder
Ancient EgyptClassical
3150BCknowledge
to 300BC and invented states 400BC:
th cent.
Philosophers: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle.
part survided till ~500AD 10
rise of Chinese alchemy.
~300BC Alexander the Khem
Great Blackexpand
Land. on it
 What is alchemy?

Alchemy is a cosmic art by which parts of the

cosmos the mineral and animal parts can be
liberated from their temporal existence and attain
states of perfection, gold in the case of minerals,
and for humans, longevity, immortality, and finally
redemption. Such transformations can be brought
about on the one hand, by the use of a material
substance such as the philosopher stone or elixir,
or, on the other hand, by revelatory knowledge or
psychological enlightenment
-Harry Sheppard
 Chinese Alchemy
From 5th century BCE, there has been
historical text recording alchemy
Strong link between alchemy and medicine
Quest for immortality
Influenced by Taoist philosophy and religion
 Chinese Alchemy
The first ever theoretical treatise on alchemy:
Zhouyi Cantongqi ()
Wei Boyang , end of Eastern Han
dynasty (~200 CE)
Based on tenets of I-Ching, five elements and
other Taoism beliefs.
 Chinese Alchemy
Concept of yin and yang
Yang : male, positive and light, heat, sun
Yin : female, negative, darkness, cold, moon
Everything in the world can be described as a opposition of this
two forces
elixirs were concocted to balance the yin and yang in ones
body to attain perfect harmony with the universe and hence
Usually packaged with occult, spirit ..etc

Elixir Pills, unearthed near Nanjing,

China (Eastern Jin Dynasty period ~4th
century AD)
 Chinese Alchemy
wood

Concept of five elements (

water fire
)
Everything in the universe is
made up of the characteristics
of these five elements
Applied to medicine, fengshui,
ethics, alchemyetc metal earth

generating
overcoming
 Chinese Alchemy
Cinnabar (Mercuric Sulphide, HgS) is considered yang

Sulphur: yang

Saltpetre (Potassium nitrate). ying

Experimentations with the ying yang concept in producing elixir of life led to major
innovations such as gunpowder in the 10th-11th century in China
 Cinnabar (dansha)
Since more than 2000 years, Cinnabar has fascinated the Chinese, and it is
believed cinnabar contains the ingredients to give one longevity

An alchemists application for research funding to

Han dynasty Wu Ti emperor (), 133B.C.

Summon spirits and you will be able to change

cinnabar powder into yellow gold. With this yellow
gold you may make vessels to eat and drink out of.
You will increase your span of life, you will be able to
see the sian deity, fairyof the Peng Lai
mountains (mythical home of the immortals) that is
in the midst of the sea. Then you may perform the
sacrifices and escape death
 Cinnabar (dansha)
the Chinese alchemists have been able to perform this reaction since 2000
years ago. It fascinates them, and it is believed cinnabar contains the
ingredients to give one longevity

+

HgS + O2 Hg + SO2

+
Hg + 2S HgS
 Cinnabar (dansha)
Reaction described by Ge Hong (283-342 AD), in his book
baopuzi neipian [Book 4. Alchemy] () []

Translation:
All plant [based medicine] burns to ashes but cinnabar burns to
become mercury. After numerous transformation, it returns back
to cinnabar. This is far superior to plant [based medicine].
Therefore cinnabar can cause people to live forever. Only the
gods can see this reason
The Greco-Roman world
 The Greco-Roman world

300. Spartans @ battle of Thermopylae. 480BC

Classical Greece. Athens. (~500 300 BC)

Roman
empire
(~50BC
onwards)
 Empedocles c. 490 430 BC, Greek.
Agrigentum, a Greek city in Sicily.
Postulated that all matter is composed
of four elements: Fire, Water, Air and
Earth. Different ratios of these elements
give you different materials
Two divine powers: love and strife
unites and divides, respectively, the
elements, to give one different
materials
 Aristotle 384-322 BC (Athens, Ancient
Greece). Greek Philosopher
Postulates a prime matter that is featureless
and without any quality
Four qualities: hotness, coldness, dryness
and wetness, can be impressed on the prime
matter to give the four Empedocles element

hot
FIRE AIR

dry moist The four elements and four

qualities became the standard
EARTH WATER
dogma for the next 2000 years
cold
 Another alternative philosophy proposed by
the Stoics: Cosmos governed by
correspondence between great and small.
Correspondence between the seven metals
to seven planets
The practice of alchemy connected to
astrology, dependent on the influence of the
planets
Influence on medieval European alchemy
 Metallurgy and alchemy
Since ancient times, metallurgy has been important.
Observation that metal comes out from the earth. So
analogous to plants growing, perhaps metal grows
underground? From baser metal to finally gold?
Perhaps man can accelerate this growth
To get gold from baser metal. Replace the qualities of the
baser metal and replace with gold quality.

Painting on terra cotta of slaves working in

mines in ancient Greece, ca 5 B.C.
 Greco-Roman Alchemy
Alexandria (Present day Egypt, then part of the Greek world) during 1st to 5th
century AD, was the capital of practical alchemy in the Greco-Roman world.
Melting pot of technology, Greek philosophy, near east religion

Zosimos of Panopolis, ~4th century AD, Alexandria

Zosimos provided one of the first definitions of

alchemy as the study of "the composition of waters,
movement, growth, embodying and disembodying,
drawing the spirits from bodies and bonding the spirits
within bodies

Knew about distillation, sublimation, metallurgy, dyeing

and other chemical craft

Development of tools and equipments that remained

unchanged from 4th till 17th century
The rise of Islam
 Islamic Alchemy
Islamic/Arab empire covers from Spain, northern Africa,
middle east to central asia from 7th century
Greek-Roman philosophy (Ancient Classical knowledge)
transferred acquired by the islamic world after the 7th
century, centered around cities in Damascus, Baghdad ..etc
Islamic alchemists inherited and built on the greco-roman
classical knowledge, with possible interaction from the East
Continental europe (The west) went into the dark ages.
Most classical knowledge lost
Through Spain, as the Christian west reconquered Spain, the
combined greco-roman and arab knowledge (including
alchemy) flowed back to the West, initiating the renaissance
 Islamic Golden Age. Abbasid Caliphate.
~750 till ~1250 A.D. Centered at Baghdad and Samarra (Present day Iraq)
Caliphs Harun al-Rashid (786-809) and al-Mamun (813-833). Literature,
philosophy, and the natural sciences flourished
House of Wisdom (Bayt al-hikma): Hellenistic works from Antiquity were
translated into Arabic, was founded in Baghdad

The Great Mosque of

Samarra (~850AD)

Muhammad ibn Musa al- Ali Baba. From One

Khwarizmi (~780-~850 AD) Thousand and One Nights.

Father of Algebra
The word algorithm is derived
from his name
 Islamic Alchemy
Jabir Ibn Hayyan (ca. 8th to early 9th century AD,
persian??)
Accepts Aristotles four elements and four
qualities
mercury-sulphur theory of metallic composition
His works eventually came down to the west as
summa perfectionis under the name Geber.
Most influential of latin text on alchemy 15th-century
Hajarat al-falasifah: Philosophers stone: An agent to European portrait
change the density, malleability and colour of metal. of "Geber"
i.e. to change from base metal to gold
Al-iksir: Elixir
 Jabirs Mercury-Sulphur theory of metal
Mercury and Sulphur: not exactly the
material by the same name.
Mercury: watery in principle. Spirit. yin?
Sulphur: fiery in principle. Soul. yang?
metal are made up of the wedding of sulphur
and mercury in different proportion
 Islamic Alchemy

Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (850- c.923,

persian, lived in Baghdad)
Polymath. Probably more famous as a physician
than a chemist or alchemist
 Islamic Alchemy
Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi (850- c.923, persian,
lived in Baghdad)
Manual of chemical practices: Sirr al-Asrar (Secret of
Secrets):
Descriptions of chemicals and minerals.
Apparatus described were used till 19th century and even today:
crucible, stirring rod, the retort, alembic, large oven, cylindrical
stove, glass cups, flasks, phials, beakers, glass funnel, heating
lamps, mortar, cauldron, hair-cloth, sand- and water-bath, sieve
Described Codified lab processes used by alchemist/chemist:
distillation, calcination, filtration..etc
 Alchemy in medieval Europe

An Alchemist in his Workshop, by David Teniers II, depicts alchemy in the 17th
century
Our direct ancestor of modern chemistry.
From the Iberian peninsula where the Arabs/Islamic empires/kingdoms
persisted from 7th till almost the end of 15th century, knowledge flowed back
to the west, including alchemical knowledge.
Gave us: Algebra, Algorithm, Alchemy, Alkali etc
 Philosophers stone
Obsessed in obtaining the philosophers stone: a material to
transmute base metal to gold
Practices shrouded in mysteries, secrets and the occult. Hidden
language, symbols. Spells etc

Green lion devouring a sun

George Ripley Marrow of
Alchemy. 17th century
 Philosophers stone
A famous Alchemists:
It was said that he acquired a
mysterious book which he tried
hard to translate. Later having
finally able to translate the book
after a pilgrimage trip to Santiago
de Compostela, Spain.

It was a recipe for the

Philosophers stone, and he was
able to create silver and gold.
Made him rich and he became a
philanthropist.
Nicolas Flamel (ca.
1330-1418) No historical basis for his story.
French scribe and Book published in 1612,
manuscript-seller. attributed to Nicolas Became famous through fiction
Flamel. Victor Hugo in Hunchback of
Notre Dame.
Harry Potter.
 Philosophers stone
Frauds abound reflected in literature and culture
The Canons yeoman tale from Geoffrey Chaucers
The Canterbury Tales (written in middle english
~1400)

To muchel folk we doon illusioun, To many folk we bring about illusion,
And borwe gold, be it a pound or two, And borrow gold, perhaps a pound or two,
Or ten, or twelve, or manye sommes mo, Or ten, or twelve, or any sum will do,
And make hem wenen, at the leeste weye, And make them think, aye, at the least, it's plain,
That of a pound we koude make tweye. That from a pound of gold we can make twain!
Yet is it fals, but ay we han good hope It is all false, but yet we have great hope
It for to doon, and after it we grope. That we can do it, and after it we grope.
But that science is so fer us biforn, But that science is so far us before,
We mowen nat, although we hadden it sworn, We never can, in spite of all we swore,
It overtake, it slit awey so faste. Come up with it, it slides away so fast;
It wole us maken beggers atte laste. And it will make us beggars at the last.
.. ..

http://www.librarius.com/canttran/yeotrfs.htm
 Philosophers stone
Authorities, both church and political authority tried to
control the peoples craze about Philosophers stone and
transmutation. They dont want gold (or fake gold) to
flood the market
Kings and emperors like James IV of Scotland (1473-1513 )
and Rudolf II of Bohemia (1552-1612) heavily supported
alchemist.

Rudolf II of Bohemia, Holy Roman Emperor.

Patron of Arts, Sciences, occult studies
including Alchemy.
The Alchymist, In Search of the
People who attended his court include:
Philosophers Stone by Joseph
botanist Charles de l'Ecluse, and the Wright of Derby, 1771.
astronomers Tycho Brahe and Johannes
Kepler, alchemist John Dee
Philosophers stone
Alchemy was very much part of the intellectual
environment in those times. Very respected
people dabble in alchemy.

During these time, magic and science doesnt

seem to have a clear cut difference

John Dee 1527-1609.

Alchemist, astrologer,
mathematician, philosopher.

Advisor to Queen Elizabeth I

of England.

John Dee performing an experiment before

Queen Elizabeth I
 A big fan of alchemy: Isaac Newton
"Newton was not the first of the age of reason, he was the last
of the magicians(John Maynard Keynes)
Isaac Newton was an avid practitioner of alchemy, actively
seeking out the philosophers stone. Autopsy after his death
reveals high Hg content in his hair. Probable Hg poisoning
from his alchemical expts.

Isaac Newton
1642-1726
Apart from his
fame in Physics
and Mathematics,
later in life, he also
dabbled in occult
studies: alchemy,
biblical
Isaac Newtons notebook on alchemy predictionsetc..
 Medieval Mining and Metallurgy
In parallel with the quack philosophers stone, advances in practical
technology in Metallurgy and medicine
Vannoccio Biringuccio c.1480-1539.
Italian Metallurgist.
Despises Alchemy.

His book De la Pirotechnia an early

classic on metallurgy and topics
include
Smelting, glassmaking
Treatment of metal ores
Mercury, sulfur, antimony, alum,
arsenicetc
Details on sublimation, distillation,
pyrotechnyetc

De la Pirotechnia, 1540, Venice

 Medieval Mining and Metallurgy

De Re Metallica (1556) by
Georgius Agricola (1494-
1555).
Detailed account of mining
including how precious metal
can be separated from other
base metal, involving usage of
acid, high heatetc

from De Re Metallica
 Medieval alchemy
Gradually, people engaging in honest crafts like metallurgy,
dyeing ..etc begin to have the know-how and technology to
be able to verify or debunk the claims of transmutation
Age of Reason, Scientific revolution starting in the 17th
century. Rise of the scientific method. Robert Boyle

Boerhaaves allegory (1724): the farmer who had told his sons
that treasures lies in the wild fields surrounding their home. The
sons worked hard to cut the trees and turn the soil over to look
for the treasure. The treasure turns out to be fictitious but the
already ploughed land was ready to be farmed to let the sons
achieving prosperity.
 Etymology
Chimie (French). Chemie (German). Qumica (Spanish)
English word: Chemistry from chemist spelling from c.1790

Chymist. English 16th to 18th century. Eg. The sceptical chymist (1661) by robert Boyle.
Chymist from latin chymia and chymista

Arabic: al-kmiya or al-khmiya or

1530s. Al- started to be dropped. chymia and chymista. Agricola tries to
return words to classical roots (instead of arabic origins). But
alchimia and chimia (and chymia) still synonymous. It was only in early 18th
century that there a semantic distinction appears between the rational chimia
and the occult alchimia
Arabic term is derived from the Greek or
khymeia () . Only dates back to ~300AD

Khem from the coptic language Kim old chinese pronunciation

(Egyptian) meaning black land of gold or metal. is still
(Egypt). Art of the black land: pronounced Kim ya in Fujian
metallurgy, dyeingetc dialect. a common term in old
chinese alchemy
 Alchemy vs Chemistry. Pseudo-
science vs. Science?
We tend to associate the alchemy as non-
scientific, and the modern chemistry as
scientific
To seek to achieve transmutation or to obtain
elixir for immortality is not non-science.
It is rather the method that needs to be
examined
What makes science a science is the practice :
Scientific method
Scientific Method?
Francis Bacon
1561-1626
English philosopher, politician, scientist.
Established the scientific method

Hypothesis and Theoryetc

Self consistent and non-contradictory
Predictive capabilities
Falsifiable

Refine or Change hypothese/theory

Experiments, Observation, Data Collection.

Quantitative Analysis. Check if it is as predicted
by theory.
Experiments repeated reliably by others
 Renaissance 1400-1600

1436, Filippo Brunelleschi. Duomo

Florence

David, Michaelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci's

1504 Vitruvian Man, 1490

Ancient Greek and Roman

knowledge re-introduced to
Europe. New knowledge being
created out of the old
Raphael, School of Athens, 1505
 Paracelsus
Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus
Bombastus von Hohenheim (1493-1541)
Celsus: Famous Roman Physician.
Paracelcus: Beyond or better than Celsus
Rejected Classical Greek medical theory. Quentin Metsys
Galen four humour
Rejected Aristotles four element and The word Bombastic
modified Gebers mercury-sulphur theory may have originated from
his name?
Doctrine: Tria Prima
The rise of iatrochemistry: The
application of alchemy to Medicine
 Paracelsuss Doctrine: Tria Prima
Tria Prima: First three things
Expanded from the sulphur-mercury (dyad) theory.
Added Salt.
Not specific substances but more broad principles:
Sulphur (inflammability)
Mercury (fusability, volatility)
Salt (incombustability, non-volatility)
Example: analysis of wood by burning:
Smoke: mercury
Fire and light: sulphur
Remaining ash: salt
 iatrochemistry
Old term for medical chemistry. iatro =
medical/doctor (Greek). Chemistry for the
purpose of medicine
Traditional medicine: Galen believe in four
humors: blood, yellow bile, black bile, and
phlegm. Balance to achieve health. Herbal
and complex medicine
Coelum
Paracelsus: Specific chemical cures for philosophorum by
Philippus Ulstadius,
specific ailments. Inorganic, salts. Simple to 1527. Iatrochemistry
textbook
describe.
Iatrochemistry leads to a lot of people writing
textbooks, hence making it more open than the
secretive transmutation alchemy
 Jan Baptist van Helmont
1577-1644, Flemish (present day Belgium).
Iatrochemist.
Van Helmonts theory: Only two ultimate
elements: Air and Water Portrait by Mary Beale ca. 1674

Air does not take part in transmutation

Water can be molded into different materials
An active, organizing principle Ferment molds
the various forms and properties of materials

The first beginnings of bodies, and of corporeal causes, are two, and
no more. They are surely the elements water, from which bodies are
fashioned, and the ferment
Early Demonstration of scientific method: Willow tree
experiment
Experiments with Willow Tree: Early
demonstration of Scientific method
I took an earthen pot and in it placed 200
pounds of earth which had been dried out in an
oven. This I moistened with rain water, and in it
planted a shoot of willow which weighed five
pounds. When five years had passed the tree
which grew from it weighed 169 pounds and
about three ounces. The earthen pot was
wetted whenever it was necessary with rain or
distilled water only. It was very large, and was
sunk in the ground, and had a tin plated iron lid
with many holes punched in it, which covered
the edge of the pot to keep air-borne dust from
mixing with the earth. I did not keep track of the
weight of the leaves which fell in each of the
four autumns. Finally, I dried out the earth in the
pot once more, and found the same 200
pounds, less about 2 ounces. Thus, 164
pounds of wood, bark, and roots had arisen
from water alone.

Ortus Medicinae (1648)

Experiments with Willow Tree: Early
demonstration of Scientific method
From modern understanding, its the
wrong conclusion
Did not take into consideration
of air (actually CO2)
Scientific Method features of the
expt:
Designed an experiment to test
a hypothesis
Quantitative. use of the balance
and belief in the conservation of
matter
Controlled experiment: used
distilled water. Covered up to
minimize contaminants
 Chaos: Gas
First to coin the word Gas. Greek word for chaos
Heated 28 kg of charcoal in air and was left with 2.2 kg of ash.
Escaped as spiritus sylvester , or wild spirit. However when heated in
a sealed container, either it will not burn, or there will be a violent
explosion where the spirit escape.
"Suppose thou, that 62 pounds of Oaken coal, one pound of ashes is
composed: Therefore the 61 remaining pounds are the "wild spirit" which,
also being fired, cannot depart, the Vessel being shut. I call this spirit,
unknown hitherto, the new name of 'gas,' which can neither be retained in
Vessels nor reduced to a visible form, unless the seed is first extinguished.
Oriatricke, or Physick Refined, English language edition, 1662.

Remember, he believes air is an element NOT involved in

transmutation (or reaction). So this gas is not air. He thinks that
gas is water devoid of ferment
Key point is that he notice that air and gas from chemical reactions
are different