A chemist at Johns Hopkins University is working to decipher alchemical formulas to determine what secrets alchemists might have once known that have been lost to time.
While alchemy may seem like pseudoscience to some, Lawrence Principe has set about recreating some alchemical formulas, reaching the results that alchemists did. Part of the trick is that the information that is recorded in these formulas is not always complete, so Principe has to read between the lines and fill in the gaps that are missing from the formulas. In doing so, he has been able to turn gold into a vapor, create white lead, and make a stone glow in the dark.
To learn more about Principe and his studied, check out this article!
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