In Philadelphia last week, a group of scientists busily polished what was, until recently, a rusty old science. Alchemy, the ancient pursuit of transmuting base metals into gold, has been absent as a ...

Can alchemy be described as a protoscience? Do ancient texts with obscure formulas and procedures describe mystic rituals and allegoric visions? Or do they record instructions to carry out real ...

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Towards the end of Philip Ball’s marvellous book on the history of alchemy he tells the story of pioneering nuclear physicist Ernest ...