Chapter 1, Section 3

Chapter 1, Section 3

Alchemy

The word chemistry comes from alchemy. Long before there were chemists, alchemists were studying matter. Alchemy arose independently in many regions of the world. It was practiced in China and India as early as 400 B.C. In the eighth century, Arabs brought alchemy to Spain, from where it spread quickly to other parts of Europe.

Alchemy had a practical side and a mystical side. Practical alchemy focused on developing techniques for working with metals, glass, and dyes. Mystical alchemy focused on concepts like perfection. Because gold was seen as the perfect metal, alchemists were searching for a way to change other metals, such as lead, into gold. Although alchemists did not succeed in this quest, the work they did spurred the development of chemistry.

Figure 1.15 A bowl-shaped mortar and a club-shaped pestle are used to grind or crush materials such as herbs, spices, and paint pigments. The mortar and pestle in the photograph is made of porcelain, which is a hard material.

Alchemists developed the tools and techniques for working with chemicals. Alchemists developed processes for separating mixtures and purifying chemicals. They designed equipment that is still used today, including beakers, flasks, tongs, funnels, and the mortar and pestle in Figure 1.15. What they did not do was provide a logical set of explanations for the changes in matter that they observed. That task was left for chemists to accomplish.