Lost Secrets of Alchemy

We should really aim to learn rather than joke. Roots go back as early as recorded history and from the very first civilizations. In turn, Greece, Egypt, Arabia the Middle East and early Christianity, with proponents even as respected and famous as Newton himself. In history from ancient civilisations to modern times there have been efforts to understand and harness the forces of nature, and to process and manipulate material substances. Named a pseodo-science alchemy apparantly is a system or systems of practices, a mixture of mystic philosophy, superstition magic and science. The roots are as far back as 4000BC and further.

Cement and concrete today are indespensable for all building. Some properties are it's not expensive it's hard as stone, durable, robust, non-corrosive and has incredibly high compression strength which means concrete pillars can carry extremely large loads.

Rome built roads bridges and many buildings there were great archeological accomplishments too some of it surviving to this day. With the fall of the Roman empire knowledge of cement was lost, that was around AD400. In the middle ages there was no cement at all buildings were of stone for instance cobble and paved roads forts churches as well as permanent dwellings. The great castles and grand cathedrals are monumental art of stonework.

In the late 1700s cement was re-discovered and through the 1800s was further improved. Having been lost for almost 1500 years, society as we know it is totally impossible whithout. Humanity would still be in the dark ages. It should be clear that the invention of cement is of immense worth, of incalculable value.

According to alchemy all substances were to consist in proportions of the elements earth water air and fire, but remember that matter exists in the same phases as solid, liquid, gas and plasma. The concept too of caloric as heat is realistic enough. It is very much the same idea and almost as useful as the familiar thermal energy and heat transfer theory. Combustion and heat energy are then phlogiston and caloric.
 
As far as transmutation goes it is in fact not so impossible. For example in nuclear reactions lead can indeed change to gold at atomic level. Transmutation does exist. Thus fundamentally it is not impossible and the ideas appear to be more plausable than it sounds.

The main pursuit and historical quests were for the philosopher's stone and the universal solvent, as well as an elixer of life in pursuit for immortality. Personally I've heard talk of materials e.g. metals that could not be replicated as apparantly found in archeological sites such as pyramids and perhaps the legend of Toledo steel (and as well the secret recipy for Coca-cola!)

The fundamental problem of a universal solvent that was foreseen is for a suitable container. It is reminicent of the ancient Greek philosophers with the problem of what happens when an unstoppable force is applied to an immovable object. Who knows maybe a black hole? If there exists such a thing.

It is important to realise that terminology, definitions and words could in fact be the same with different words, or the same word may have entirely different meanings. A rose is as sweet by any name.

As we might imagine surviving note books will be mostly in Latin. In considering languages, culture, beliefs and traditions there would be some resulting confusion. Perhaps not too much has changed after all. Certainly as a body of knowledge and beliefs pre-sciences are not worthless. Seen in the light too of even magic and superstition apparently science  actually has not changed too much through the ages.

Chemistry to me personally still looks like magic and I was never good at it. We can take the start of chemistry as a science at say about 300 years ago. As the substances and procedures throughout centuries in those old workshops the activities were with making concoctions mixtures potions spells and rituals. To me it is reminiscent of the modern facilities and experimental methods. Laboratory work still is practiced with some of the the same equipment.

It is essential to be able to repeat experiments and obtain reliable empirical facts. Methods and understanding has of relatively very recent beginnings. Even today we are often in the dark in spite of research ands advanced theories. However our understanding is far superior now, and in the nature of sciences will always be.

Further, I find chemistry researchers can always explain results after the experiments have been carried out, and provide  reasoning and the outcome when it is already known. However often they were unable to make predictions beforehand. A matter of hindsight. In principle it is the same as alchemy Even though the theories of chemistry are obviously much more advanced now it can still be very difficult to accurately predict or not at all, a new experiment's outcome and then I would think especially in organic chemistry due to its terrific complexity.

In astronomy we have much the same, and much the different situation as in chemistry.

In conclusion, although admittedly this technically is speculation, when comparing 6000 years to 300 one may imagine there must be libraries of lost knowledge and long forgotten secrets. We cannot afford to ignore pre-sciences. To make a systematic study of alchemy and it's history must be well worth the effort. There is nothing to lose we only stand to gain.