03-22-2023, 12:04 PM
2022 Cozzarelli Prize Recipients
Class I: Physical and Mathematical Sciences
Winner:
Exploring the ancient chemistry of mercury
Marianna Marchini, Massimo Gandolfi, Lucia Maini, Lucia Raggetti, and Matteo Martelli
Alchemy is often considered a mythical and esoteric discipline. However, alchemy shares similarities and a common historical origin with chemistry. The authors of this study analyzed Greek, Latin, and Syriac alchemical texts from the first to fourth century CE and experimentally replicated historical methods for the extraction of mercury from cinnabar ore. The team reproduced mercury extraction techniques, including grinding cinnabar with various metals or heating cinnabar in closed vessels. The reconstructed methods included procedures not otherwise documented in modern chemistry. Translating alchemical lore into the language of chemistry, the results provide insight into the early history of chemistry as a discipline.
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2123171119
Class I: Physical and Mathematical Sciences
Winner:
Exploring the ancient chemistry of mercury
Marianna Marchini, Massimo Gandolfi, Lucia Maini, Lucia Raggetti, and Matteo Martelli
Alchemy is often considered a mythical and esoteric discipline. However, alchemy shares similarities and a common historical origin with chemistry. The authors of this study analyzed Greek, Latin, and Syriac alchemical texts from the first to fourth century CE and experimentally replicated historical methods for the extraction of mercury from cinnabar ore. The team reproduced mercury extraction techniques, including grinding cinnabar with various metals or heating cinnabar in closed vessels. The reconstructed methods included procedures not otherwise documented in modern chemistry. Translating alchemical lore into the language of chemistry, the results provide insight into the early history of chemistry as a discipline.
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2123171119