Many of you have an image of Sir Isaac Newton. You probably think Issac Newton as a person who contributed immensely in Physics through his laws of motion, gravitation which were the foundation of classical mechanics which we study today.
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| Was Isaac Newton an alchemist? |
Or many of you think Isaac Newton as a mathematician who invented calculus(debatable).
Or the person who proved the society wrong by proving that the light is made up of different colours, with his research on optics.
But there is also an other side of his personality. He was heavily interested in alchemy and other occult practices. The world came to know this side of him by the unpublished papers written by him on these topics.
Sir Isaac Newton was heavily involved in Alchemy.
It is considered as an occult science. Alchemy is the medieval forerunner of chemistry, concerned with the transmutation of matter, in particular with attempts to convert base metals into gold or find a universal elixir.
Some of the alchemy practices were banned in England during Newton's Lifetime. As many people used to fool others. Fake gold was a very big problem. The one who was found to do such practices was given severe punishments.
Newton would perform experiments with different types of chemicals and then observe their reactions.
Since at that time chemistry was still in infancy. He would spends hours near the furnace, for making the correct chemical combinations.
He hated to meet people, socialize and wanted to work in isolation. In his college days he used to stay in his room, doing his work. He also hates criticism. That is why he published many paper lately.
Most of the Newton's work on alchemy was lost in a fire occurred in his lab. It was believed that the fire was caused due to his dog. So the work which we are able to observe is very less. So, we would never know about the true extent of his work.
One of the aim of Newton's alchemy was to discover Philosophers Stone. It is a stone(or chemical) which was believed to turn base metals into gold. He aimed to find a recipe to make Philosophers Stone.
He was also trying to find the "Elixir of life". Elixir of life was believed to provide immortality to the one who drinks it. It can also cure all the diseases.
For all this, he heavily studied all the researches, recipes, experiments that were done before. And try to perfom all of them as it is. We would find an equation of optics and an experiment of alchemy on the same page of his notebooks. He believed that science and alchemy and also other occult practices go hand in hand.
Newton has been associated with many of the secret societies. But due to lack of publicized materials and doubtful motives, it is difficult to establish Newton's memberships.
Newton was too much involved in alchemy. He would work continuously for many hours. Which also affected his health. He was also suffering from a nervous breakdown during this period.
At the time of his death, Newton was having 169 book on alchemy in his personal library. Although he was having more books in his alchemy period.
At the time of his death, the papers on alchemy by Newton were considered "unfit" to publish by Newton's estate.
After purchasing and studying Newton's alchemical works in 1936, Keynes, opined in 1942 at the tercentenary of his birth that "Newton was not the first of the age of reason, he was the last of the magicians."
Sir Isaac Newton was heavily involved in Alchemy.
It is considered as an occult science. Alchemy is the medieval forerunner of chemistry, concerned with the transmutation of matter, in particular with attempts to convert base metals into gold or find a universal elixir.
Some of the alchemy practices were banned in England during Newton's Lifetime. As many people used to fool others. Fake gold was a very big problem. The one who was found to do such practices was given severe punishments.
Newton would perform experiments with different types of chemicals and then observe their reactions.
Since at that time chemistry was still in infancy. He would spends hours near the furnace, for making the correct chemical combinations.
He hated to meet people, socialize and wanted to work in isolation. In his college days he used to stay in his room, doing his work. He also hates criticism. That is why he published many paper lately.
Most of the Newton's work on alchemy was lost in a fire occurred in his lab. It was believed that the fire was caused due to his dog. So the work which we are able to observe is very less. So, we would never know about the true extent of his work.
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| Newton copied the recipe by hand from a text by American-born alchemist George Starkey, then scribbled his own lab notes on the back. Souce-https://api.nationalgeographic.com/distribution/public/amp/news/2016/04/160404-isaac-newton-alchemy-mercury-recipe-chemistry-science PHOTOGRAPH BY CHEMICAL HERITAGE FOUNDATION |
One of the aim of Newton's alchemy was to discover Philosophers Stone. It is a stone(or chemical) which was believed to turn base metals into gold. He aimed to find a recipe to make Philosophers Stone.
He was also trying to find the "Elixir of life". Elixir of life was believed to provide immortality to the one who drinks it. It can also cure all the diseases.
For all this, he heavily studied all the researches, recipes, experiments that were done before. And try to perfom all of them as it is. We would find an equation of optics and an experiment of alchemy on the same page of his notebooks. He believed that science and alchemy and also other occult practices go hand in hand.
Newton has been associated with many of the secret societies. But due to lack of publicized materials and doubtful motives, it is difficult to establish Newton's memberships.
Newton was too much involved in alchemy. He would work continuously for many hours. Which also affected his health. He was also suffering from a nervous breakdown during this period.
At the time of his death, Newton was having 169 book on alchemy in his personal library. Although he was having more books in his alchemy period.
At the time of his death, the papers on alchemy by Newton were considered "unfit" to publish by Newton's estate.
After purchasing and studying Newton's alchemical works in 1936, Keynes, opined in 1942 at the tercentenary of his birth that "Newton was not the first of the age of reason, he was the last of the magicians."
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