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Newton the Alchemist - Science, Enigma, and the Quest for Nature's "Secret Fire" (Hardcover)
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Newton the Alchemist - Science, Enigma, and the Quest for Nature's "Secret Fire" (Hardcover)
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A book that finally demystifies Newton's experiments in alchemy
When Isaac Newton's alchemical papers surfaced at a Sotheby's
auction in 1936, the quantity and seeming incoherence of the
manuscripts were shocking. No longer the exemplar of Enlightenment
rationality, the legendary physicist suddenly became "the last of
the magicians." Newton the Alchemist unlocks the secrets of
Newton's alchemical quest, providing a radically new understanding
of the uncommon genius who probed nature at its deepest levels in
pursuit of empirical knowledge. In this evocative and superbly
written book, William Newman blends in-depth analysis of newly
available texts with laboratory replications of Newton's actual
experiments in alchemy. He does not justify Newton's alchemical
research as part of a religious search for God in the physical
world, nor does he argue that Newton studied alchemy to learn about
gravitational attraction. Newman traces the evolution of Newton's
alchemical ideas and practices over a span of more than three
decades, showing how they proved fruitful in diverse scientific
fields. A precise experimenter in the realm of "chymistry," Newton
put the riddles of alchemy to the test in his lab. He also used
ideas drawn from the alchemical texts to great effect in his
optical experimentation. In his hands, alchemy was a tool for
attaining the material benefits associated with the philosopher's
stone and an instrument for acquiring scientific knowledge of the
most sophisticated kind. Newton the Alchemist provides rare
insights into a man who was neither Enlightenment rationalist nor
irrational magus, but rather an alchemist who sought through
experiment and empiricism to alter nature at its very heart.
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