The philosopher's stone

what is the philosopher’s stone ?

in the late 17th century , the philosopher’s stone was the most sought after gold  in the world of alchemy according to the legend the philosopher’s stone could transform ordinary metals such as copper and iron into precious ones like gold and silver

it also believed to be an elixir of life with the power to cure ones illness and even grant immortality to those who possessed it

there are many description of the stones appearance the most well-known being a red stone , it was also referred to as an orange stone 

when the stone is in it’s solid from it often appears as transparent and glasslike object in the shape of an egg

there are many sources that believed the philosopher’s stone may not have even been a stone at all 

when searching for the stone alchemists examined countless substances this would build the base knowledge for fields we know today as chemistry and pharmacology 

many of the world’s brilliant minds search for the philosopher’s stone  over the centuries including Roger Boyle who is considered the father of modern day chemistry

even sir Isaac Newton mentioned the philosopher’s stone and some his work  

when discussing the philosopher’s stone , the one name you will not miss is Nicolas Flamel , Flamel was a french bookseller who lived in paris during the 14th and 15th century , in 1382  thermal claimed to have transformed lead into gold after decoding an ancient book of alchemy , we most likely will never know if this was true

however the historical record show that Flamal did come into considerable wealth around the time he made him claim and donated all of his riches to charity 

it was after his death that flamel became so heavily associated with the stone there are those who believe that having achieved immortality

Flamel faked his death and continued his work on the stone 

fans of JK Rowling Harry Potter will recognized Nicolas Flamel and philosopher’s stone as they feature in the first book and film with it originally be entitled Harry Potter and the philosopher’s stone

the concept of being able to turn metals into gold attracted the attention of many over the years who saw the legends of the stone as a chance to make fortune 

Rudolf II the king of bohemia found himself in financial difficulties and decided to invest heavily in the search for the philosopher’s stone large amounts of alchemists were funded and promised hefty rewards if they could find the secrets of the stone

Rudolf II was never able to find the stone become an insane in the process he was later death drowned by his relatives it is not known if his madness was due to natural causes or the misuse of toxic that he believed to be the philosopher’s stone

one of the most famous frauds was Edward Kelly who claimed to have possession of the philosopher’s stone he had small amounts of white and red powders which allowed him to turn heated mercury into gold 

Kelly did enough to convince Rudolph II of his claims and receive large amounts of support and money eventually

 Kelly’s magical powders would run out lead in Rudolph to jail him in his tower he would later die from injuries sustained attempting to escape the tower

the philosopher’s stone has intrigued scientists for centuries and even to this day remains a mystery