Chemistry in Perspective

Chemistry in Perspective

Chemistry in the form of metallurgy, cooking, pharmacy, dyeing and
cosmetics has been practiced since the discovery of fire in pre-
history. In earlier times, the study of Alchemy, as it was known,
covered a broader spectrum than modern chemistry. The late Harry
Sheppard offered this definition:

????Alchemy is a cosmic art by which parts of the cosmos -
????the mineral and animal parts - can be liberated from
????their temporal existence and attain states of perfection,
????gold in the case of minerals, and for humans, longevity,
???immortality, and finally redemption.

Alchemy as practiced in both China and the West assumed that all
matter was derived from the same basic source and therefore one
form could be derived from another. In China this led to a
number of studies mostly centered around discovering an elixir of
life that would impart health, longevity and immortality to humans.
In the West much of the effort concerned finding a way to transform
base metals into gold. Thus, while modern chemistry has been
centered on the nature of the interactions among materials, eternal
chemistry, which is of interest here, involves understanding the
nature of the universe.

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