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SH-SC1

The Material Universe


Part 2 (Chemistry)

MSRODRIGUEZ
1st sem 2016-2017
 In this course, we study the
development of some basic
concepts of physics and chemistry,
and how some of the early
processes were dependent or
influenced by the development of
civilizations.
Why look back?
 Science is a human activity, influenced by social,
cultural and environmental context in which it
occurs.
 Self-improvement: history illuminates science and
makes us better human beings
 Efficiency: learn from mistakes, and avoid
repeating the past.
 Perspective: provide better judgment and clarity.
 Imagination: many new ideas are clever
adaptations of the past.
 Education and public understanding: promote
good citizenship; address issues appropriately.
Changing views about matter

 Ancient notions about matter


 Mechanistic views
 Electricity and matter
 Radioactivity and atomic structure
 Quantum mechanics
In this lesson, we shall
•examine Greek ideas about the nature of
materials on Earth
•trace the developments that led to the rise
of the pseudo-science of alchemy
•examine the basic ideas of alchemy
(Alexandrian, Arabic, and Chinese) and its
contributions to modern science
•trace the development of the concept of an
element
Search for the Truth about Nature

Roman Empire
Divided in 395 AD

Eastern part Western Part


Constantinople Rome

Greek culture
& science
Athens

Arabic Civilization
~ 600 AD
11th-14th century
No scientific progress

Fall of Constantinople
1453 AD
494 BC – the Persians captured the city of Miletos: Ionian
philosophers were driven westward; Athens emerged as
the center of Greek philosophy, art, and drama.
The Dawn of Science:
Greece
 Greece was a civilization on the margin
of the great, stable empires of Egypt
and Mesopotamia – teaching but not
dominating.
 Political structure of Greece was that of
independent city-states.
Greek philosophical speculations to
modern science – were they useful?

Generalizations of the Greek thinkers


became the seeds of many of our
modern concepts.

Greek ideas formed the basis upon which


Alexandrian, medieval, and Renaissance
science were built.
The Sublunary World:
From Ancient Greeks to
Alchemists
Plato Aristotle
(428-347B.C.) (384 – 322 B.C.)
Philosophical Ideas of the
Ancient Greeks
The universe is divided into two worlds
or domains:

• celestial - the world of eternal


and perfect beings- the sun, moon,
planets and stars

• sublunary - the corruptible earth


and bodies on the earth
Philosophical Ideas of the Ancient Greeks

CELESTIAL DOMAIN SUBLUNARY


DOMAIN
• composed of
quintessence or the • composed of
ether four elements
• incorruptible
• natural motion is • corruptible
uniform circular motion
– Plato’s Principle • natural motion is
a straight line
Greek Philosophers:

“Can everything be
regarded as a SINGLE
REALITY appearing in different
forms?”
Thales (640-546 BC)
WATER
“… the inexhaustible substance from
which everything is born and into which
everything passes…”

Anaximenes (died c. 528 BC)


AIR
“Everything is in a state of
change.”
Heraklitos (c. 490 BC)
FIRE
Typifies all existence because of
its mobility and ability to cause
change.

Empedocles of Agrigentum in
Sicily (490-430 BC)
For the first time, a theory of
4 elements – EARTH,
WATER, FIRE and AIR
Plato (428-348 BC)

The Platonic idea, as developed


and modified by Aristotle,
governed the thinking of intelligent
men for the next 2,000 years.

•idea of 4 elements

•idea of INTERCONVERTIBILITY –
elements could be converted one into
another
Aristotle (384-321 BC)
The most celebrated scientific
authority of antiquity

•Basis of the material world was a primitive matter


or PRIMA MATERIA (proto hyle) – potential
existence until impressed with FORM
•Idea of 4 elements – EARTH, WATER, AIR, FIRE

•4 qualities mediate the existence of the 4


elements – HOT, COLD, DRY, MOIST
(hot, dry)
FIRE
hot dry

AIR EARTH
(moist, hot) (dry, cold)

moist cold
WATER
(cold, moist)
•The 4 elements make up all earthly matter.

•An element is a combination of 2


qualities.

•Any element may be transformed into


another.

•Elements can combine in any proportion,


hence the existence of many compounds.
A 5th element, the “quintessence” or “ether”
make up the heavenly bodies.
Natural Resting Places of the 4 Elements

natural motion is
along a straight
line towards the
domain of the
predominant
element in the
object
Greek Ideas about Matter:
Who prevailed?
Leucippus and Democritus’
Aristotelean View
Ideas
The Beginnings of Greek Alchemy

Historical background:

Alexander the Great (356-323 BC)

• Conqueror of the vast Persian


empire; conquests stretched from
northwest Africa to India

• Conquests ushered
in a new period in
history – the
Hellenistic Age
Alexandria (founded 332 BC) -
Most famous settlement and most
significant for the future history
of chemistry

3 distinct movements that


converged in Alexandria:

•Greek philosophy
•Eastern mysticism
•Egyptian technology
Lesson from alchemy:

 THEORY is important as a
guide to the advancement of
science

The development of chemistry had to


await the interaction of theory and
practice.
15th century – Fall of Constantinople, seat
of the Byzantine Empire; Greek scholars
fled to Renaissance Europe
16th century – a period of great
scientific advances
Copernicus (1473-1543) in astronomy
Vesalius (1514-1564) in anatomy

The scientific revolution has begun.

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