Alchemy – Page 2 – The Episodic Table of Elements

49. Indium: The Spectre Of Isaac

November 11, 2019

6:00 am

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Alchemy, Color, Crime, East India Company, England, Etymology, Ferdinand Reich, Hieronymus Richter, Illumination, Imperialism, India, Isaac Newton, Numismatics, Optics, Perception, Spectroscopy, Television, William Chaloner

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The story of indium is pretty straightforward, but its namesake is practically impossible to pin down.

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15. Phosphorus: Dealing With The Devil

June 11, 2018

6:00 am

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Adenosine Triphosphate, Alchemy, Allotropes, Annie Besant, Biology, Carl Wilhelm Scheele, Cosmetics, England, Germany, Guano, Hennig Brand, Illumination, Imperialism, Labor, Matches, Satan, World War II

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The history of phosphorus is largely a tale of people getting their hands dirty. Very, very dirty.

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11. Sodium: What’s In Na?

April 16, 2018

6:00 am

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Alchemy, Atomic Bonding, Basilius Valentinus, Biology, England, Etymology, Germany, Humphry Davy, Illumination, Imperialism, Ions, Jons Jacob Berzelius, Salts, Theodore Gray

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Turns out ancient sages and seers might’ve actually known a thing or two. Also, is there a good reason for sodium’s chemical symbol? Na.

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