Link to the Show / Show NotesALCHEMYAt the end of the 16th century, the German alchemist Heinrich Khunrath wrote: "Darkness will appear on the face of the Abyss; Night, Saturn and the Antimony of the Sages will appear; blackness, and the raven's head of the alchemists, and all the colours of the world, will appear at the hour of conjunction; the rainbow also, and the peacock's tail. Finally, after the matter has passed from ashen-coloured to white and yellow, you will see the Philosopher's Stone".The language, which sounds fantastical, is cryptic, encoded, symbolic and secretive. It is worth bearing in mind that Isaac Newton wrote more manuscripts on alchemy than on anything else and Ernest Rutherford, the father of nuclear physics, described himself as an alchemist.What was the essence of alchemy, its history and legacy? And how much more was it than a rapacious desire to turn base metals into gold?Contributors:Peter Forshaw, Lecturer in Renaissance Philosophies at Birkbeck, University of London;Lauren Kassell, Lecturer in the History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge;Stephen Pumfrey, Senior Lecturer in the History of Science at the University of Lancaster.Making this MP3 available is an experiment. We value your thoughts about this trial, and would appreciate feedback at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/mp3.shtml#feedback
Play in your Iphone
RSS Feed