عنوان

Atoms and alchemy :

(Number (ISBN

0226576965 (alk. paper)

(Number (ISBN

0226576973 (pbk. : alk. paper)

(Number (ISBN

9780226576961 (alk. paper)

(Number (ISBN

9780226576978 (pbk. : alk. paper)

Country Code

bnb

Number

b410925

Title Proper

Atoms and alchemy :

General Material Designation

[Book]

Other Title Information

chymistry and the experimental origins of the scientific revolution /

First Statement of Responsibility

William R. Newman.

Place of Publication, Distribution, etc.

Chicago :

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

University of Chicago Press,

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

2006.

Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item

xiii, 250 p., 8 p. of plates :

Other Physical Details

col. ill. ;

Dimensions

24 cm.

Text of Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. [227]-240) and index.

Text of Note

The problematic position of alchemy in the scientific revolution -- The mise en scne before Sennert. The medieval tradition of alchemical corpuscular theory ; Erastus and the critique of chemical analysis ; Aristotelian corpuscular theory and Andreas Libavius -- Daniel Sennert's atomism and the reform of Aristotelian matter theory. The corpuscular theory of Daniel Sennert and its sources -- The interplay of structure and essence in Sennert's corpuscular theory -- Robert Boyle's matter theory. Boyle, Sennert, and the mechanical philosophy -- Boyle's use of chymical corpuscles and the reduction to the pristine state to demonstrate the mechanical origin of qualities.

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Text of Note

Since the Enlightenment, alchemy has been viewed as a sort of antiscience, disparaged by many historians as a form of lunacy that impeded the development of rational chemistry. But in Atoms and Alchemy, William R. Newman--a historian widely credited for reviving recent interest in alchemy--exposes the speciousness of these views and challenges widely held beliefs about the origins of the Scientific Revolution. Tracing the alchemical roots of Robert Boyle's famous mechanical philosophy, Newman shows that alchemy contributed to the mechanization of nature, a movement that lay at the very heart of scientific discovery. Boyle and his predecessors--figures like the mysterious medieval Geber or the Lutheran professor Daniel Sennert--provided convincing experimental proof that matter is made up of enduring particles at the microlevel. At the same time, Newman argues that alchemists created the operational criterion of an "atomic" element as the last point of analysis, thereby contributing a key feature to the development of later chemistry. Atoms and Alchemy thus provokes a refreshing debate about the origins of modern science and will be welcomed--and deliberated--by all who are interested in the development of scientific theory and practice.

Title

Atoms and alchemy.

Alchemy-- History.

Chemistry-- History.

Science-- History.

Science-- Philosophy.

s1zz

Number

Edition

Class number

Book number

Class number

Class number

Book Number

Newman, William Royall.

Date of Transaction

20120206013945.0

Electronic name

[Book]

Y