Atoms and Alchemy: Chymistry and the Experimental Origins of the Scientific Revolution Book

Since the Enlightenment, alchemy has been viewed as a sort of antiscience, disparaged by many historians as a form of lunacy that impeded the development of rational chemistry. But in Atoms and Alchemy, William R. Newmanâ??a historian widely credited for reviving recent interest in alchemyâ??exposes the speciousness of these views and challenges widely held beliefs about the origins of the Scientific Revolution. Tracing the alchemical roots of Robert Boyleâ??s famous mechanical philosophy, Newman shows that alchemy contributed to the mechanization of nature, a movement that lay at the very heart of scientific discovery. Boyle and his predecessorsâ??figures like the mysterious medieval Geber or the Lutheran professor Daniel Sennertâ??provided convincing experimental proof that matter is made up of enduring particles at the microlevel. At the same time, Newman argues that alchemists created the operational criterion of an â??atomicâ? element as the last point of analysis, thereby contributing a key feature to the development of later chemistry.  Atoms and Alchemy thus provokes a refreshing debate about the origins of modern science and will be welcomedâ??and deliberatedâ??by all who are interested in the development of scientific theory and practice. (20060513)Read More