h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hello everybody,

I've been interested in Alchemy for quite a while now, but haven't really been bothered to find out what it's all about.

I probably know more than the majority now purely because my ears would perk up at the mention of it... but I still would like to find out more about it and if anyone knows anything I'd be grateful! thanks peoples!

~ Maewfannwr, the dubious impersonator of chickens (btw, if that's not a smiley it should be made into one!!!!)

From what I can tell, alchemy is to science what 'alternative medicine' is to real medicine. It had all sorts of rules and conventions that made a very complete but fatally flawed whole. It worked some of the time, and explained some things very well, and so was left to explain everything.
I believe that it had its basis in the Greek (Aristotelean?) elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water.

I do know that phosphorous was made by getting a big bucket of urine and letting it 'go off' in a corner so it reduced to phosphour, or some variation thereof.

I'd suggest checking with anyone within 1/2 mile radius of you if you wish to follow this route

A lot of Alchemy was chemistry, the alchemy bit was transubstantiation and the search for such things as the philosphers stone (which wasn;t a stone or any tangible thing regardles of what harry fr*gg*n potter says!).

------->
Alchemy.

"Can it be true?"
"A lump of purest Green!"

Sometimes the Blackadder doesn;t get the best lines

but what layed the chicken?

Er the egg I mean,

-- DoctorMO --

A chicken and an egg are lying in bed smoking, the chicken says "Well, that settles that one".

Liam.

but that dosn't make sense, eggs arn't even born, and there the same spicies, yuk!

-- DoctorMO --

I thought Alchemy was the attempt to turn lead into gold.

Bonkers!

Yes, but not only.

-- DoctorMO --

Alchemy was not chemistry. A lot of early chemistry was alchemy, though. The difference is in the methods they used, the way they recorded their results, the application of logic, etc.
I think the urine thing was to make nitre, one of the constituents of early gunpowder. Reportedly, the King of France once passed a law that the scum from the walls of barns his property, and mandated an organization to travel round the country to collect it. Not an enviable job is my guess.
The idea behind the 'lead into gold' business lies in the Greek elements. Alchemists believed that everything on earth was created from a mixture of these in different proportions, and reactions which changed one thing into another were caused by adjustments between these ratios. By this logic, it stood to reason that two inert metals, similar in many properties, would be likely to be constituted similarly and so interconvert quite readly.

Hello Maewfannwr

I have touched on alchemy _and_ the Philosophers' Stone in this entry
A1037963

That's it up to date, I really don't know what else to add, other than the Ark has never been found.

I'd be grateful to hear your thoughts

The section you spoke of (about the Philosopher's Stone) was quite interesting. This is the kind of subject that has plenty of fascinating detail...

I know - but I don't know whether to elaborate, or if the entry is big enough already.
I really don't want to go into too much detail as it would be going off the subject {a bit}.

I'd say stick it in another Guide entry.

So you think the one about the Ark is alright as it is?
I have added a final part about where the Ark might be now.
And described a couple of the places

Should please Gnomon.

Thanks agb...

I didn't know the thing about powdered gold, or the whole connection to egypt.

//side note
Interesting to note that moses destroyed the only proof of god's existence...
// back on topic

I know that the alchemists were searching for eternal life, preservation, a higher existence, that kind of thing. Alchemy mainly orginated from Taoist belief, which is why it surprised me about egypt. I've got a book about Alchemy (which I haven't read all of) and it talks about the lady Tai, wife of the first Lord of Tai. Apparently she acheived enlightenment, because they found her body immaculately preserved wrapped in silk and lying a coffin of jade (I think). Both are meant to have magical preserving properties. According to the experts, it was like had only just died.

This preservation is what is meant to happen when you acheive enlightenment.

about the philosopher's stone: It does produce gold, but that's really a side affect. What they were trying to make gold because their belief was that the only thing that does so IS the philosopher's stone, which also gives you eternal life (and preservation and all the rest of it.) The preconception that alchemists were after material riches is not true. Some of them might have been, but they weren't the REAl alchemists.

That's my 2 bob!

~ Maewfannwr, keeper of chickens

P.S. thanks MOG

Hi again
I found this entry, looking for more information:

A619788