The story of the first porcelain made in Europe gives some insight into the older threads, like alchemy, that are woven into modern chemistry, says Roald Hoffmann, a professor of humane letters in the ...

The traditional grand narrative of the scientific revolution styles it as a decisive rejection of magic and mysticism in favor of rationality and empiricism. This engaging study of early modern ...

A spirited tour of alchemy shows how it bridged everything from chemical reactions, medicine and craft to philosophy, art and religion. When physicist Ernest Rutherford and chemist Frederick Soddy ...

First steps: from alchemy to chemistry? -- Robert Boyle: chemistry and experiment -- A German story: what burns, and how -- An enlightened discipline: chemistry as science and craft -- Different kinds ...

The Chemical Heritage Foundation wants to set the record straight about alchemy. The medieval practice, often perceived as a dark art or pseudoscience, actually helped form the process of scientific ...