TheHistoryofChemistry
Chemistrydidnotemergeasascienceuntilafterthescientificrevolutionintheseventeenthcenturyandthenonlyratherslowlyandlaboriously. Butchemicalknowdedgeisasoldashistory, beingalmostentirelyconcernedwiththepracticalartsofliving. Cookingisessentiallyachemicalprocess; soisthemeltingofmetalsandtheadministrationofdrugsandpoisons. Thisbasicchemicalknowledge, whichwasappliedinmostcasesasaruleofthumb, wasneverthelessdependentonpreviousexperiment. Italsoservedtostimulateafundamentalcuriosityabouttheprocessesthemselves. Newinformationwasalwaysbeinggainedasartisansimprovedtechniquestogainbetterresults. Thedevelopmentofascientificapproachtochemistrywas, however, hamperedbyseveralfactors. Themostseriousproblemwasthevastrangeofmaterialavailableandtheconsequentdifficultyoforganizingitintosomesystem. Inaddition, thereweresocialandintellectualdifficulites, chemistryisnothingifnotpractical; thosewhopracticeitmustusetheirhands, theymusthaveacertainpracticalflair. Yetinmanyancientcivilizations, practicaltaskswereprimarilytheprovinceofaslavepopulation. Thethinkerorphilosopherstoodapartfromthismundaneworld, wherethepracticalartsappearedtolackanyintellectualcontentorinterest. Thefinalproblemforearlychemicalsciencewastheelementofsecrecy. Expertsinspecifictradeshaddevelopedtheirowntechniquesandguardedtheirknowledgetopreventothersfromstealingtheirlivelihood. Anotherfactorthatcontributedtosecrecywastheesotericnatureoftheknowledgeofaalchemists, whoweretryingtotransformbasemetalsintogoldorwereconcernedwiththehuntfortheelixirthatwouldbestowtheblessingofeternallife. Inonesense, thesecondofthesewasthemoreseriousimpedimentbecausetherecordsofthechemicalprocessesthatearlyalchemistshaddiscoveredwereoftenwrittendowninsymboliclanguageintelligibletoveryfeworinsymbolsthatwerepurposelyobscure.
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