Chemistry and alchemy are two disciplines with some common points, but also differences. The first is a science, but the second was a proto-scientific practice. However, alchemy was key in laying the foundations of modern science.
Alchemy was a proto-scientific practice that mixed elements of physics, chemistry and medicine , but also mysticism, art and spiritualism. Although this was not a scientific discipline as such, today it is considered that it has been able to prefigure some foundations of modern science.
The Greek philosophers were pioneers in asking what is the nature of the matter that surrounds us. Seeing that matter underwent changes and was transformed, they began to doubt its nature. It was then that Aristotle determined that all matter can be constituted from basic elements, which he considered were: earth, water, air and fire. In addition, other thinkers such as Democritus also noticed that matter could not be subdivided indefinitely, so they concluded that it was made up of indivisible basic units, atoms.
The Egyptians were not far behind either, as they made important contributions to the field of applied chemistry. This was possible thanks to their complex embalming rituals, which made them interested in the study of substances in order to prevent the putrefaction of corpses.
The practice of alchemy came to Europe through the Arabs . The alchemists wanted to find a hypothetical element, which they called the philosopher’s stone, which would supposedly allow them to achieve the transmutation of metals. That is, they wanted to be able to convert low-value metals, such as lead, into highly valuable ones, such as gold. In addition, there was a strongly rooted belief that this philosopher’s stone was an elixir capable of curing any disease and granting immortality.
Although alchemy was not a science in the strict sense, we should not underestimate its importance in history, since some of its contributions were of great importance in laying the foundations of current chemistry. In this article we are going to review the definitions of alchemy and chemistry and we are going to analyze the key differences between both disciplines.
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What is chemistry?
Chemistry is a science that deals with the study of the composition, structure and properties of matter . It also looks at the changes it undergoes when chemical reactions take place and how energy is produced and transmitted.
Chemistry is recognized today as one of the basic sciences, being closely linked to other fields such as biology, pharmacy, medicine or engineering. The history of chemistry had its beginning in the 18th century, when alchemy underwent an evolution and many old theories, until then assumed to be true, began to be refuted, producing the so-called Chemical Revolution.
This science is a very broad field , so there are different branches that differ according to the subject being studied and the method used for it. In this way, we can find the following:
- Inorganic Chemistry: It is one that focuses on the study of inorganic matter.
- Organic Chemistry: It is one that focuses on the study of organic matter.
- Biochemistry: It is the branch that studies the substances in biological organisms.
- Analytical Chemistry: It is the branch that analyzes samples of matter to know in detail its composition and structure.
- Neurochemistry: It is the branch of chemistry that studies the chemistry of our brain.
What is alchemy?
Alchemy was an esoteric belief, focused on discovering how the transmutation of matter is possible . In particular, alchemists were eagerly seeking the so-called philosopher’s stone, which supposedly would allow them to turn low-value metals, such as lead, into gold. In this way, they assumed that said philosopher’s stone could act as a kind of catalyst in the transformation process.
Today it is known that, in theory, it would not be impossible to convert lead into gold, since it could be achieved by extracting 3 of the 82 protons in a lead atom, since a gold atom has 79 protons. However, in practice this transformation is not feasible. In addition, the philosopher’s stone was also linked with the ability to cure diseases and offer eternal life to human beings. Although this supposed elixir was never found, alchemists made important pharmaceutical advances along the way.
Currently, alchemy is qualified as a protoscience and even as a discipline of a philosophical type . This brought together content from many different areas, such as chemistry, physics, art or spiritualism. Despite not being a truly scientific discipline, its value lies in the fact that its practices played a decisive role in the development of chemistry. Alchemy was a very consolidated practice in some regions such as Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, China and India.
How are alchemy and chemistry different?
Now that we have defined what chemistry and alchemy are, let’s review the differences between them.
1. Chemistry is a science; alchemy not
As we have been commenting, a central difference between chemistry and alchemy is that the former is a scientific discipline, but the latter is not . Alchemy has used notions from chemistry, physics or astronomy, but it has also been closely linked to mystical and spiritual aspects. The search for the philosopher’s stone as a remedy for all diseases and to achieve immortality is an example of this.
However, it is a mistake that these mystical aspects can discredit the most scientific part of alchemy. Although many of his assumptions were more than questionable, the development of this practice was of great importance for the advancement of chemistry and medicine as sciences. This is because, with the ultimate goal of achieving metallic transmutation, alchemists worked with countless materials, even using tools that are still used today.
We cannot consider alchemy to be a science, since the experimentation did not respond to the scientific method and was motivated by spiritual questions rather than research . However, alchemy was a first approach to the study of matter. In fact, some great scientists, like Isaac Newton, even practiced alchemy. It has been thought that his work as an alchemist may have been relevant to his later theory of gravity.
The emergence of chemistry as a separate science from alchemy took place in the eighteenth century, when the scientific revolution took place and the spiritual or religious was separated from science itself. With this movement, many alchemists unconvinced about the mystical aspects of their practice moved on to much more rigorous and scientific work.
2. Alchemy has been the basis for chemistry
Both areas have had their high points at different points in history. Alchemy preceded chemistry, which is why it is considered so important in the development of science . The practice of the alchemists allowed, many times unintentionally, to discover numerous discoveries that would later be nourished by science. The chemical revolution established the decisive schism between religion and science and it is then that the discipline that we now call chemistry began to be forged.
3. Objectives
Alchemy and modern chemistry had their raison d’être with quite different goals. The goal of alchemy was to transmute low-value metals into highly valuable ones, such as silver or gold. In addition, as we have already mentioned, it was also sought to find that philosopher’s stone to achieve eternal life in humans.
For its part, modern chemistry focuses on the analysis of chemical processes, using the scientific method. That is to say, that the point of view of chemistry is not mystical or spiritual, but purely quantitative . For this reason, to speak of chemistry is to speak of logical activities that aim to discover an objective truth.
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