He kept his discovery secret until 1680, when Anglo-Irish chemist Robert Boyle rediscovered phosphorus and published his findings. In 1669, or later, his experiments with distilled human urine resulted in the production of a glowing white substance, which he called "cold fire" ( kaltes Feuer). Brand tried to discover the philosopher's stone-a mythical object that was supposed to turn inexpensive base metals into gold. The first person in recorded history to discover a new element was Hennig Brand, a bankrupt German merchant. The history of the periodic table is also a history of the discovery of the chemical elements. Platinum was also known to pre-Columbian South Americans, but knowledge of it did not reach Europe until the 16th century.įirst categorizations Hennig Brand, as shown in The Alchemist Discovering Phosphorus Similar ideas about these four elements existed in other ancient traditions, such as Indian philosophy.Ī few extra elements were known in the age of alchemy: zinc, arsenic, antimony, and bismuth. The four roots, which the Athenian philosopher Plato called elements, were earth, water, air and fire. Around 330 BCE, the Greek philosopher Aristotle proposed that everything is made up of a mixture of one or more roots, an idea originally suggested by the Sicilian philosopher Empedocles. Nine chemical elements – carbon, sulfur, iron, copper, silver, tin, gold, mercury, and lead, have been known since before antiquity, as they are found in their native form and are relatively simple to mine with primitive tools.
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