Alchemy: The Key to Modern Chemistry

Alchemy is considered the precursor to modern chemistry. When you think of chemistry, usually you think of an exact science; something very meticulous. Truthfully, it is. To be accurate and to obtain precise and desired results, it must be accurate. Alchemy, however, was not an exact science, it was a primitive approach to the elements and usually they looked to a deity to actually initiate chemical reactions. Thus we separated them, but for good reason. In today's time we us instruments to give us exactness and precision that mankind had formerly ignored. Throughout time you will see that mankind has used chemistry to solve its most complex of problems and build a world that 7 billion people have come to know as home.

Alchemy dates back to very primitive times; back to when man first discovered fire and its uses for food and warmth. We did not know at that time that it was actually a combustion reaction fueled by the wood burning with oxygen in the air. This discovery was crucial and it was a turning point for the human race. Once the human race found out that it could use and manipulate its surroundings to serve its own purposes there would be no turning back; this single discovery would revolutionize the world in time, and it would bring forth feats that are still amazing to this day.

If you begin to look at alchemy itself, then you must take a walk through history. Some of the most notable cultures that used alchemy would be: The Chinese, The Grecians, The Romans, The Hittites, and people like the Native Americans, and the Arab Muslims. These are obviously not all of the cultures that implemented alchemy to solve problems and to better their lives, but they made some of the most notable discoveries that were milestones i...

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...at comes close in importance is history. Though alchemy is history to us, it was reality to them. Their constant search for its miracles has left us here with this knowledge. Since that primitive man started that very first chemical reaction of fire, we have been on an endless pursuit of hew things and new applications for things that we have already developed. The main things that Alchemy was implemented to find were life elixirs and how to turn common objects into gold and other precious metals, but the more practical things that it contributed to is what we know it best for. Its impact on science and human life in general has been tremendous and is something that should be marveled at and studied for years to come. Alchemy was the builder of our world and it has now given us the tool of which we will use to build a world for the generations to come: chemistry.