The History of Chemistry

We continue with research by Joseph Black, Henry Cavendish, and Joseph Priestley, concerning new "airs". Then there is the work by Karl Scheele, which was delayed being published, and Mikhail Lomonosov, which was generally ignored. Finally we reach Marie-Ann Paulze and Antoine Lavoisier, who created modern chemistry by realizing that phlogiston is bogus and water is not an element. We ha...

Here we see the advent of the steam engine, using the knowledge of Boyle's Law, invented by Thomas Savery. We encounter Johann Joachim Becher, with his three elemental earths, including a fatty earth that burned. Then we learn of Georg Ernst Stahl, and his popular idea of phlogiston as the burning quality--but it explained corrosion and rust, too! There is the new calibrated tool, the thermom...

In which we meet Angela Sala, who first described accurately a chemical synthesis, van Helmont and his research into gases, Torricelli and his barometer, and Robert Boyle, the "Sceptical Chymist", with a new definition of an "element." We meet one of the last alchemists, Hennig Brand, and learn what he discovered. Support the show Support my podcast at  https://www.patreon.com/...

The Age of Discovery included new science, but alchemy still lingered. We meet the scholars Agricola, Biringuccio, Paracelsus, and more, along with their writings. We learn of the discovery of Glauber's salt, van Helmont's biochemistry experiment, and Sir Francis Bacon, with his method of scientific induction. Support the show Support my podcast at  https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofch...

As Europeans interacted more with Arab traders, many more books of ancient and Arab alchemy filtered into Europe. We learn about advances in glass, discovery of alcohol, gunpowder, mineral acids. We discuss a number of famous European alchemists and philosophers, and the practice of iatrochemistry. Support the show Support my podcast at  https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how yo...

This episode continues with the fall of the Roman Empire, sending the practitioners of Khemeia eastward. We learn of the rise of Arab Alchemy, the source of the word alchemy, and some of the major Arab alchemists: Geber  and Al-Razi, We hear about the two major types of alchemy: exoteric and esoteric. There was a parallel development of alchemy in China as well. Support the show Support my podcast...

We talk about the rise of the mystical Egyptian art, "khemeia," in the Hellenistic Period through the Roman empire. Support the show Support my podcast at  https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at steve@historyofchem.com Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be , from World Scientific Publishing, https://www.worldscientific...

We discuss the first chemical theories, both Chinese and Greek, from ancient times, and some of the philosophers who argued about them. Support the show Support my podcast at  https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at steve@historyofchem.com Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be , from World Scientific Publishing, https://www.world...

We discuss the earliest historical practical chemistry, such as bronze, smelting iron, leather-working, mummification, salt as a preservative, dyes, soap, and even the ultimate origin of the word "chemistry". We have a special guest, Biblical Hebrew scholar Michael Carasik of the podcast "Torah Talk" to fill us in on a bit of chemistry in the Hebrew Bible. Support the show Supp...

This episode discusses the general theme of the podcast, its scope (from prehistory to the present), who I am, and the format of the series. Support the show Support my podcast at  https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at steve@historyofchem.com Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be , from World Scientific Publishing, https://www....

Support the show Support my podcast at  https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at steve@historyofchem.com Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be , from World Scientific Publishing, https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12670#t=aboutBook

This episode discusses examples of chemical change known to prehistoric humanity, from fire to fermentation, from annealing and smelting copper to glazing pottery, from heating ochre to change its color to the first use of bronze. Support the show Support my podcast at  https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at steve@historyofchem.com Ge...