Gold means more to alchemists than the ability to pay for their experiments. Gold represented perfection on all levels including the mind and the spirit. As one of the seven planetary metals, it was represented by the Sun. Many of the symbols used to portray gold in alchemical writings had […]
Monthly Archives: June 2014
The metalloids or semimetals are elements that exhibit properties of both metals and nonmetals. The elements between the metals and nonmetals on the periodic table are metalloids: Certain additional elements are considered metalloids based on their properties, but aren’t usually considered part of the periodic table group. These elements are:
Metalloids (Semimetals) List and Photos
June 6 is Richard Smalley’s birthday. Richard Smalley is one of the three men who share the 1966 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of carbon fullerenes. Fullerenes are a class of molecules consisting entirely of carbon atoms that form three dimensional shapes, such as spheres, tubes, and ellipsoids. […]
Today in Science History – June 6
Mercury was considered by alchemists to be one of the principal substances along with salt and sulfur. This silver liquid has the Latin name hydrargyrum, literally water silver. This is the reason for the symbol Hg on today’s periodic table. It was also known by the name quicksilver. The symbol for the metal […]
Mercury Alchemy Symbols – Hydrargyrum
June 5 is John Couch Adams’ birthday. John Couch Adams was the astronomer famous for almost being the first to discover the planet Neptune. In 1845, astronomers were interested in the orbit of the planet Uranus. It had recently completed a complete revolution around the Sun since it was discovered in […]
This Day in Science History – June 5
Silver was one of the seven base metals to an alchemist and often associated with the Moon. Silver was believed to have feminine qualities and associated with purity. These are several different silver alchemy symbols that have appeared in alchemical texts.
Silver Alchemy Symbols
Sulfur was important to alchemy. Along with mercury, it was believed to be part of every metal. Sulfur, or brimstone was associated with fire, masculinity and the soul. This is why some sulfur alchemy symbols contain the upward pointing triangle of fire, arrows and crosses. These are several different sulfur […]
Sulfur Alchemy Symbols
Chrome alum (chromium alum) is a safe salt that produces beautiful natural purple crystals. The octahedral crystals are easy to grow, plus you can control how dark they are, to produce crystals ranging from pale lavender to deep amethyst purple. Chrome Alum Materials To get purple chrome alum crystals, you […]
How to Grow Purple Chrome Alum Crystals
These are the four ancient element symbols for earth, air, fire and water. Each symbol is shown with a color associated with each element with a stylized background pertaining to each element. The colors green and brown are often associated with the element earth.Bright blue, white, yellow and gray are […]