Alchemy Essay, Research Paper

Alchemy

Alchemy is an ancient art, practiced in the Middle ages,used to discover a substance that would transmute common or base metals into gold or silver ,and to find a way of prolonging human life.The main objective of alchemy was to discover a substance called the philosopher’s stone.This stone was thought to transform common metals such as lead into silver or gold.Another objective of alchemist was to find the “elixir of life”- a potion that would cure all diseases and prolong life.

The ancient practice of alchemy dates back to Egypt . Alchemy became popular in Alexandria around the same time it was developing in China.The theory that all things are composed of air , earth , fire and water greatly influenced alchemy . The alchemist performed many experiments in their search for the philosophers’ stone .Even though the alchemist were unsuccessful in their search for the philosophers’ stone they made many contributions to chemistry and developed laboratory techniques .