Stein der Weisen
Alchemy is a category of science that makes assumptions about nature and involves the use of minerals, metals, and the synthesis of medications. Although now considered a pseudoscience, the practice of alchemy has contributed experimental techniques to the chemistry world such as the process of distillation and sublimation. Alchemy was an early version of chemistry combined with metal work; one of the main goals of early alchemists was to create what was known as the Philosopher’s Stone, a substance that when heated and combined with a non precious metal like copper or iron (known as the “base”) would turn into gold. The Tree of Diana was a precursor to the Philosopher's stone: experiments involving the Tree aimed to turn non precious metals into precious metals like gold or silver, similar to the Philosopher's stone. Alchemy began as a quest for knowledge and to understand the world, but the practice did not make it far past the Enlightenment (around 17th and 18th centuries). However, many serious chemists throughout history were also alchemists, including Isaac Newton.