Philosophy
When the ancient Greeks inquired into the building blocks of the universe, they posited the existence of four fundamental elements out of which everything else is composed: earth, fire, air and water (and in some cases, ether). Crude as this taxonomy was, it became so influential that it went virtually unquestioned for two millennia. In the first episode of this fascinating documentary series, Professor Jim Al-Khalili tells the story of the human quest to understand the basic constituents of the universe, how the elements were discovered, and how the modern science of chemistry was born from mystical foundations in alchemy.
In fact, it would be an alchemist, Phillipus Theophrastus Aureolus Bombastus von Hohenheim (what a mouthful!), better known as Paracelsus, who would first challenge the ancient Greek wisdom when he proposed the existence of three spiritual substances: mercury, sulfur and sat. Less than two centuries later, while trying to isolate the philosopher's stone, that long sought-after legendary substance capable of turning base metals into gold, the German alchemist Hennig Brand would unwittingly become the first person in history to isolate an element in its pure form... and I bet you'll never guess where he found it :)
Once this spark was kindled, it would not be long until more and more elements were discovered and the revolutionary science of chemistry was established by luminaries such as Antoine Lavoisier, Joseph Priestley, Robert Boyle and Humphry Davy, but there was one more major and subtle theoretical hurdle that had to be overcome first: the ever-elusive phlogiston... which managed to elude everyone mainly because it turned out not to exist :)
Check out Joseph Priestley's contribution to the discovery of oxygen, Lavoisier's contribution to Einstein's e=mc2, or his contribution to the understanding of cold.
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- Chemistry: A Volatile History - The Power Of The Elements
After having explored the early history of chemistry, from its birth in the mysticism of alchemy to its more scientific and systematic formulation, as well as the subsequent theoretical understanding of the relationship of the chemical elements, Professor...
- The Genius Of Britain - Episode 2
After exploring the birth of the scientific revolution in England, today's episode explores five more men whose curiosity not only led to fascinating new discoveries like their predecessors, but would actually change the world. Richard Dawkins tells...
- Chemistry: A Volatile History - The Order Of The Elements
In the first episode of this fascinating documentary series, Professor Jim Al-Khalili traced the history of chemical element discovery, from its origins in ancient Greece to medieval alchemy and finally to modern chemistry. With a lot of ingenuity, scientists...
- "yttrium" [pronounced It-ree-em] And Johan Gadolin
Johan Gadolin June 5th 1760 to August 15th, 1852 Johan Gadolin was a "Finnish chemist who discovered the element yttrium (1794). This was the first of a family of 15 rare earth elements called the lanthanides. He studied in Uppsala, Sweden, and taught...
- Periodic Table...#112 Is Official
Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt, Germany is the hot bed for discovering and confirming new elements. On November 9th, 1994 the first atom with atomic number 110 was discovered...later confirmed and named in 2003 as Darmstatdium;...
Philosophy
Chemistry: A Volatile History - Discovering the Elements
In fact, it would be an alchemist, Phillipus Theophrastus Aureolus Bombastus von Hohenheim (what a mouthful!), better known as Paracelsus, who would first challenge the ancient Greek wisdom when he proposed the existence of three spiritual substances: mercury, sulfur and sat. Less than two centuries later, while trying to isolate the philosopher's stone, that long sought-after legendary substance capable of turning base metals into gold, the German alchemist Hennig Brand would unwittingly become the first person in history to isolate an element in its pure form... and I bet you'll never guess where he found it :)Once this spark was kindled, it would not be long until more and more elements were discovered and the revolutionary science of chemistry was established by luminaries such as Antoine Lavoisier, Joseph Priestley, Robert Boyle and Humphry Davy, but there was one more major and subtle theoretical hurdle that had to be overcome first: the ever-elusive phlogiston... which managed to elude everyone mainly because it turned out not to exist :)
Check out Joseph Priestley's contribution to the discovery of oxygen, Lavoisier's contribution to Einstein's e=mc2, or his contribution to the understanding of cold.
.
- Chemistry: A Volatile History - The Power Of The Elements
After having explored the early history of chemistry, from its birth in the mysticism of alchemy to its more scientific and systematic formulation, as well as the subsequent theoretical understanding of the relationship of the chemical elements, Professor...
- The Genius Of Britain - Episode 2
After exploring the birth of the scientific revolution in England, today's episode explores five more men whose curiosity not only led to fascinating new discoveries like their predecessors, but would actually change the world. Richard Dawkins tells...
- Chemistry: A Volatile History - The Order Of The Elements
In the first episode of this fascinating documentary series, Professor Jim Al-Khalili traced the history of chemical element discovery, from its origins in ancient Greece to medieval alchemy and finally to modern chemistry. With a lot of ingenuity, scientists...
- "yttrium" [pronounced It-ree-em] And Johan Gadolin
Johan Gadolin June 5th 1760 to August 15th, 1852 Johan Gadolin was a "Finnish chemist who discovered the element yttrium (1794). This was the first of a family of 15 rare earth elements called the lanthanides. He studied in Uppsala, Sweden, and taught...
- Periodic Table...#112 Is Official
Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt, Germany is the hot bed for discovering and confirming new elements. On November 9th, 1994 the first atom with atomic number 110 was discovered...later confirmed and named in 2003 as Darmstatdium;...