Story of Alchemy and the Beginnings of Chemistry
by M. M. Pattison Muir
About this book
A light journey through the history of chemistry, from its start in the obscure mysteries of alchemy to what was, for the author, the cutting edge of the development of modern atomic theory ... and whose developing blind ends we can now see with the advantage of hind sight. (Summary by Peter Yearsley)
Chapters (14)
1The explanation of material changes given by Greek Thinkers
2A sketch of alchemical theory
3The alchemical notion of the unity and simplicity of nature
4The alchemical elements and principles
5The alchemical essence
6Alchemy as an experimental art
7The Language of alchemy
8The Degeneracy of Alchemy
9Paracelsus and some other alchemists
10Summary of the alchemical doctrine -- the replacement of the Three Principles of the alchemists by the single principle of Phlogiston
11The examination of the phenomena of combustion
12The recognition of chemical changes as the interactions of definite substances
13The chemical elements contrasted with the alchemical principles
14The modern form of the alchemical quest of the One Thing
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