Gold! Some people think that the only thing
that alchemists ever tried to do was turn common metals into gold. Other people
think that alchemists were only concerned with finding a panacea to cure all
diseases and allow us to live forever. But alchemy throughout history has been
much more than just charlatans looking to perform magic tricks. Most were
intelligent scholars, and included among them are illustrious scientists such
as Sir Isaac Newton. Many were innovators who wanted to investigate the true
nature of chemical substances, and who developed experiments, coupled with
their own lateral and speculative thinking, to uncover the mysteries of the
universe. Modern science owes much to these broad minded individuals.
