Newton the Alchemist: Science, Enigma, and the Quest for Nature's "Secret Fire"

(Hardback)

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A book that finally demystifies Newton's experiments in alchemy When Isaac Newton's alchemical papers surfaced at a Sotheby's auction in 1936, the quantity and seeming incoherence of the manuscripts were shocking. No longer the exemplar of Enlightenment rationality, the legendary physicist suddenly became "the last of the magicians." Newton the

Reviews

"[A] brilliantly detailed book. . . . Newmans patient research has produced a masterpiece of scientific history . . . that will still be read in a century."---Dmitri Levitin, Literary Review
"Newton the Alchemist is unquestionably a significant reappraisal of one of the most iconic figures in the history of science. As such, the stakes are high, and scholars of Isaac Newton and the history of alchemy will no doubt grapple with Newmans arguments for some time to come."---Tara Nummedal, Isis
"The most thorough, penetrating, and perceptive analysis of Newtons alchemy ever to appear."---John Henry, Annals of Science
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Keeping a careful balance between the detailed reconstruction and reproduction of chymical processes and the portrayal of those authors and texts which influenced Newtons practices, Newton the Alchemist will remain, probably for years to come, the most complete account spanning on thirty years of how the natural philosopher approached the quest for the Philosophers Stone.

Author Bio

William R. Newman is Distinguished Professor and Ruth N. Halls Professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine at Indiana University. His many books include Atoms and Alchemy: Chymistry and the Experimental Origins of the Scientific Revolution and Promethean Ambitions: Alchemy and the Quest to Perfect Nature. He lives in Bloomington, Indiana.