Though the notion of a simple philosopher's stone of the alchemic sense fell out of scientific conception by at least the 19th century, its metaphors and imagery persisted: man's attempt to discover the essential secret of the universe, redemptively transforming not just lead into gold, but death into life. In 1901, Ernest Rutherford and Frederick Soddy discovered that radioactivity was a sign of fundamental changes within elements, and it was Soddy who quickly made the connection between this and the ancient search for the philosopher's stone (Soddy had studied alchemy extensively as a hobby). At the moment of realization that their radioactive thorium was converting itself into radium, bit by bit, Soddy later recalled that he shouted out: "Rutherford, this is transmutation!" Rutherford snapped back, "For Christ's sake, Soddy, don't call it transmutation. They'll have our heads off as alchemists." However the term stuck, in part because it...
GGreat gifts. Way to go, Sue! This blog hop will be a great success!
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Aw, thanks Blaze! I know it'll be a great success!
ReplyDeleteHi Sue! Hope you are feeling well & HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
ReplyDeletethat is beautiful artwork, Sue.
ReplyDeleteyou are so talented!
Well, congrats to Wendy, Carole and Blaze! You are the only ones to visit my blog during this Vamplit blog hop!
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