Alchemy facts

• Alchemy, derived from the Arabic word al-kimia, is both a philosophy and an old practice focused on the attempt to metamorphose base metals into gold, investigating the preparation of the "elixir of longevity", and achieving wisdom, involving the improvement of the alchemist as well as the making of several substances described as possessing exceptional properties.
• The Arabic al-kimia itself is derived from the Ancient Greek chemeia (χημεία) with the addition of the Arabic definite article al-.
• Alchemy has been practiced in ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, Persia, China, Korea, Japan, the classical Greco-Roman world, the medieval Islamic world, and then medieval Europe.
• The origins of Western alchemy are traceable back to ancient Egypt. The Leyden papyrus X and the Stockholm papyrus along with the Greek magical papyri comprise the first "book" on alchemy still existent.
• The best-known goals of the alchemists were the transmutation of common metals into gold (called chrysopoeia) or silver (less well known is plant alchemy, or "spagyric"); the creation of a "panacea", or the elixir of life, a remedy that, it was supposed, would cure all diseases and prolong life indefinitely; and the discovery of a universal solvent.
  
• Starting with the Middle Ages, Persian and European alchemists invested much effort in the search for the "philosopher's stone".
• Gold’s lasting quality led many persons to believe that they would find the secret of long life or even immortality if they could discover how to make gold from lesser substances.
• The philosopher's stone was an object that was thought to be able to amplify one's power in alchemy and, if possible, grant the user ageless immortality.
• The Chinese once believed that eating from golden dishes prolonged life.
• During the 17th century, practical Alchemy started to evolve into "Chemistry", as it was renamed by Robert Boyle, the "father of modern Chemistry".
• Some alchemists thought the Sun represented gold; the Moon, silver; Mars, iron; Venus, copper; Jupiter, tin; Saturn, lead; and Mercury, the metal mercury, also called quicksilver.
• In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, there are several references to Nicholas Flamel, and a stone that could turn metal into gold and create an elixir of immortality was sought after by both the villains and Harry and friends, for different reasons.