From Alchemy to
Augmentation
There
is a common misunderstanding when people talk about Alchemy. The tendency is to
think of it as the ancient art of turning iron and lead into precious metals
like gold and silver. The reality is that Alchemy is the closest the ancients
ever came to understanding how chemistry works.
Ancient
Egypt is said to be the birthplace of Alchemy. At its core, alchemy used
chemical elements which we now understand much better, but in those times, it
looked like black magic. Think about it, you just dropped a chunk of rock into
a bucket, added some chemicals, and next thing you know it separated the gold
and the silver from it. Suddenly you’re a sorcerer! That’s some cool stuff!
See,
there’s this big rock, called the Emerald Tablet, located in Egypt, thought to
be written by the Greek God Hermes himself, and translated by many brilliant
minds over the centuries (Including Isaac Newton who, while he wasn’t solving
how the universe works, was trying to decipher a 36,000 year old tablet!) that
is said to contain the secrets to arts of alchemy itself. There are dozens of
translations and the reality is, there is no way of knowing if any of them are
correct.
Plato,
Leonardo Da Vinci, Aristotle, Copernicus, Kepler, even Napoleon Bonaparte was
known to have an obsession with this dark art. So why was alchemy so enticing
to these men? Probably because they were men who couldn’t just sit around when
there were mysteries to solve. And this tablet was one of their greatest
mysteries of all.
Alchemy
works on a system of the number seven. Why this is so important, I do not know
as I don’t fully understand alchemy entirely but I do know the “Tria Prima” was
added to the basic elements to keep with this scheme. Sulfur, Mercury, Salt,
Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. Sulfur, Mercury, and salt are considered the Tria
Prima (The Three Primes). Sulfur represents the omnipresent spirit of life,
mercury is the fluid connection between the high and the low, and salt is the
base matter.
There
are also seven primary metals that correspond with seven of the planets in our
solar system (well six of them anyway…) each one of these metals has an element
and an astrological symbol that corresponds with them as well. All of these
things combine into the art of the alchemist. They essentially united Astrology
with Chemistry and Earth Science because there was no understanding of the
separation back then.
The
seven primary metals and their celestial bodies are:
1.
Gold
– Sun
2.
Silver
– Moon (not a planet!)
3.
Copper
– Venus
4.
Iron
– Mars
5.
Tin
– Jupiter
6.
Mercury
– Mercury (duh…)
7.
Lead
– Saturn
Notice
that gold is on top? It’s a pretty important element.
On
top of the seven metals there are seven processes associated with these as
well. The first step is Calcination, the second is Dissolution, third process
is Separation, Conjunction is fourth, the fifth is Fermentation, then
Distillation, followed by Coagulation. (Starting to sound a little more like
chemistry?)
There
is evidence of this in 4th century Rome as well, in the form of
dichroic glass. What is dichroic glass you ask? Its glass that has small
particles of gold added to it which makes visual effects of color changing when
light passes through it.
So
after all that it brings me to what we’re going to discuss today. Gold, on a
nanoscale. I know what you’re saying, “If we’re just going to talk about nanoparticles
then why are you telling me all this crap about ancient sorcery?” Well because
in order to understand what happened to lead us here entirely, it helps to know
a little bit about what these
scientists were actually trying to accomplish versus what they did.
The
Lycurgus cup was thought to have been made accidentally. While the artisan was
painstakingly grinding the glass down to complement the metal rim, it’s likely
some gold and silver dust contaminated the glass, creating the stunning visual
effect it’s known for. I know what you’re saying now too, “Gold? Uh, dude? That’s
red…” Yep, sure is. Red as a baboon’s booty.
See
when gold particles are broke down to the nanoscale they refract light
differently from when they are in a bar or coin format. When they are broken
down to one of their smallest usable forms and suspended in a colloidal
solution (water basically) they turn red. As they clump together they start to
turn blue. Remember that, because that’s going to be important soon.
Before
we get to that however, let’s talk about how we make GNPs (Gold Nanoparticles).
Paracelsus and
Faraday
In
the 16th century there was a man named Paracelsus. He was a
physician who didn’t believe in following the texts of the ancients but
preferred to observe in the here and now. His medical approach is still taught
today. He was a botanist and an astrologer. Psychology also credits him with
being its father, as it’s noted he was one of the first to observe the
afflictions rooted in mental illness.
But
perhaps what’s more important for us here today is his alchemy. While dabbling
with the ancient arts he managed to synthesize and document the first
historical evidence of potable gold! Nowadays we would call this solution
Colloidal Gold, or Nanoparticles. What he called it was “Aurium Potabile”, what
it was nicknamed was the elixir of life.
This
process, which had already been used for staining glass, was now discovered to
have medicinal properties!
Enter,
Michael Faraday.
In
the 19th century was a young self-educated man named Michael
Faraday. He would go on to discover electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism, and
the laws of electrolysis. He’d invent the dynamo, and even found the Christmas
lectures! But first, he had to assist another chemist named Humphry Davy.
While
working with Davy he discovered two new compounds of Chlorine. Not too shabby
for a man that basically taught himself everything he knew through watching
others and reading in his spare time. It was this work, which in 1847, would
lead him to an incredible “Eureka!” moment. While experimenting with Paracelsus’
work he discovered the optical properties of gold particles (the change from
red to blue and why they were doing this).
That
was considered to be the birthplace of Nanoscience as it was the first
documented quantum-level observation of its type. But let’s face it, Paracelsus
really deserves some of the credit. For once, snake oil salesmen peddled
something of value.
A Small Fortune
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The
first image above is of the atomic structure of the gold nanoparticles. The one
below shows how the gold fuses to organic compounds. The second image is very
important because it leads me to our next discussion. What is the use of GNPs?
With
crazy advances in genetics and Faraday’s discovery of their optical properties,
scientists are now using these tiny precious particles to detect cancer and
genetic defect markers in human beings. Depending on their size and synthesis
properties, GNPs have a variety of uses, spanning from cancer detection and
antibody delivery, to Cystic Fibrosis gene markers in an embryo’s DNA.
What
happens is that these particles form bonds with the surface structure of the
cells that cause these illnesses. When that happens the GNPs clump together on
that marker; as the particles clump together the mass increases causing light
to refract differently. The end result is a change in the spectrum of color we
observe from red to blue. Depending on what they’re testing for, when this
color change occurs, it shows them the offender is present.
It’s
still a subject under much study and research, but the future of GNPs is
certain. They are here to stay. The use of these makes cancer scanning more
affordable and creates an earlier detection method. It also requires less
invasive procedures and may eventually replace the use of deadly carcinogens
(Such as radio/chemo therapy) in order to kill the cancer cells.
Coupled
with other nanotechnology we could witness the end of Cancer in my generation’s
lifetime. I don’t know about you, but that is maybe one of the coolest things I’ve
ever heard.
Stay Golden Ponyboy
Gold
may be responsible for our Nation’s eventual economic collapse (that and greed
of course) but it may also be our savior as well. We talked a little bit about its
medical uses and what makes it so much more practical to use because of its
optical qualities. But it has other uses as well, before it became cancer’s
number one enemy, the ancients had other uses for this incredible substance.
We
mentioned the Lycurgus cup. When GNPs were added in the form of tiny specks to
the molten glass mixture it changed the optical refractory qualities. We also
talked about why they did this, as they bond together and gain more mass it
diffuses light differently. So what other uses does this have besides tableware
and pretty Church windows?
John
Herschel discovered it was useful in photography! Aside from coining the terms
positive and negative, he also invented the cyanotype (using cyanide mixtures
in print development) which was the precursor the blueprint. But let’s talk
about printing with the gold, or Chrysotype.
In
1841 a photographer named Talbot discovered the effects of printing using
silver. In 1842 John Herschel discovered that gold could be used as well. It
was unclear back then which light-sensitive metal would win out in the end but
it certainly set the stage. Printing with gold is still around today, although
they use mixtures now, as the closer you approach to 100% gold the lower
quality results.
There
are many qualities about this substance still unknown and many applications we
probably have yet to discover. With the properties of colloidal gold, gold
nanoparticles have applications in various fields, including electron
microscopy, electronics, nanotechnology and materials science. Only time will
tell what all we can actually do with these cool micro particles.
In
the meantime, stay golden.
-Ryan
Sanders
If you want to read more about Gold
Nanoparticles, follow any of the links below, and as always, feel free to share
this around! Thanks for reading, happy learning guys!
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