The Last Sorcerers: The Path from Alchemy to the Periodic Table
Though the stories in this volume have been told before in other books, Morris (The Evolutionists; Time's Arrow) manages to make the history of the periodic table's conception fresh and quirky one more time. He does this by focusing his narrative on the early alchemists, who were among the first scientists to investigate the composition of metals and who were widely perceived to be near-sorcerous practitioners of mysterious arts. Bernard of Treves, for one, squandered his life and money questing for the secret that would turn ordinary metals into gold. Another alchemist, Paracelsus, was the first to use the word "chemistry," though his egomania and his devotion to the truth earned him nothing but trouble. Hennig Brandt collected buckets of human urine trying to make gold and instead ended up producing phosphorus. In Morris's account, even Robert Boyle, "generally considered to be the founder of modern chemistry," was an alchemist. It wasn't until the 18th century, Morris writes, that "alchemy was supposedly superceded by chemistry." Thus the more familiar legends of chemistry-featuring scientists like Humphrey Davy, Joseph Priestly and Antoine Lavoisier-appear later in this volume, which recounts the formation of our basic ideas about chemical compounds, elements and molecules. Dimitri Mendeleev, the organizer of the periodic table, gets special treatment. Morris finishes up this delightful tale of science history by sweeping through the 20th century chemists whose discoveries were beyond the wildest imaginings of the ancient Greeks, but who still couldn't make gold from lead.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.