List of alchemical substances
Alchemical studies produced a number of substances, which were later classified as particular chemical compounds or mixtures of compounds.
Many of these terms were in common use into the 20th century.
- Aqua Fortis – nitric acid, formed by 2 parts saltpetre in 1 part (pure) oil of vitriol (sulfuric acid). (Historically, this process could not have been used, as 98% oil of vitriol was not available.)
- Aqua Ragia/Spirit of turpentine/Oil of turpentine/Gum turpentine – turpentine, formed by the distillation of pine tree resin
- Aqua Regia (Latin: "royal water") – a mixture of aqua fortis and spirit of salt
- Aqua Tofani – arsenic trioxide, As2O3 (extremely poisonous)
- Aqua vitae/Spirit of Wine – ethanol, formed by distilling wine[1]
- Azoth - initially this referred to a supposed universal solvent but later became another name for Mercury
- Bismuth (German: Wismuth)
- Bitumen - highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum
- Blende
- Blue Vitriol/Bluestone – A mineral; copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate.
- Brimstone – sulfur
- Flowers of sulfur – formed by distilling sulfur.
- Butter (or oil) of antimony – antimony trichloride. Formed by distilling roasted stibnite with corrosive sublimate, or dissolving stibnite in hot concentrated hydrochloric acid and distilling. SbCl3
- Cadmia/Tuttia/Tutty – probably zinc carbonate
- Calamine (mineral) – zinc carbonate
- Calomel/Horn Quicksilver/horn mercury – mercury(I) chloride, a very poisonous purgative formed by subliming a mixture of mercuric chloride and metallic mercury, triturated in a mortar and heated in an iron pot. The crust formed on the lid was ground to powder and boiled with water to remove the calomel.
- Caustic potash/Caustic Wood Alkali – potassium hydroxide, formed by adding lime to potash
- Caustic Soda/Caustic Marine Alkali – sodium hydroxide, NaOH, formed by adding lime to natron
- Caustic Volatile Alkali – ammonium hydroxide
- Chalk – a rock composed of porous biogenic calcium carbonate, CaCO3
- Chrome green – chromic oxide and cobalt oxide
- Chrome orange – chrome yellow and chrome red
- Chrome red – basic lead chromate – PbCrO4+PbO
- Chrome yellow/Paris Yellow/Leipzig Yellow – lead chromate, PbCrO4
- Cinnabar/Vermilion – refers to several substances, among them: mercury(II) sulfide (HgS), or native vermilion (the common ore of mercury).
- Copper Glance – copper(I) sulfide ore.
- Corrosive sublimate – mercuric chloride, formed by subliming mercury, calcined green vitriol, common salt, and nitre
- Cuprite – copper(I) oxide ore
- Dutch White – a pigment, formed from one part of white lead to three of barium sulfate, BaSO4
- Flowers of antimony – antimony trioxide, formed by roasting stibnite at high temperature and condensing the white fumes that form. Sb2O3
- Fool's gold – a mineral, iron disulfide or pyrite; can form oil of vitriol on contact with water and air.
- Fulminating silver – silver nitride, formed by dissolving silver(I) oxide in ammonia. Very explosive when dry.
- Fulminating gold – gold hydrazide, formed by adding ammonia to the auric hydroxide. When dry, can explode on concussion.
- Fulminating gold – unstable gold carbonate formed by precipitation by potash from gold dissolved in aqua regia
- Galena – lead(II) sulfide. Lead ore.
- Glass of antimony – impure antimony tetroxide, SbO4 formed by roasting stibnite. A yellow pigment for glass and porcelain.
- Glauber's Salt – sodium sulfate. Na2SO4
- Green Vitriol – a mineral; iron(II) sulfate heptahydrate. (or ferrous sulfate)
- Marcasite – a mineral; iron disulfide. In moist air it turns into green vitriol, FeSO4.
- Rouge/Crocus/Colcothar – ferric oxide, formed by burning green vitriol in air
- Gum Arabic – gum from the acacia tree
- Gypsum – a mineral; calcium sulfate, CaSO4
- Horn Silver/Argentum Cornu – a weathered form of chlorargyrite, an ore of silver chloride
- Luna cornea – silver chloride, formed by heating horn silver till it liquefies and then cooling
- King's yellow – formed by mixing orpiment with white arsenic
- Lapis solaris (Bologna stone) – barium sulfide – 1603, Vincenzo Cascariolo
- Lead fume – lead oxide, found in flues at lead smelters
- Lime/Quicklime (Burnt Lime)/Calx Viva/Unslaked Lime – calcium oxide, formed by calcining limestone
- Slaked Lime – calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2
- Liver of sulfur – formed by fusing potash and sulfur
- Lunar caustic/lapis infernalis – silver nitrate, formed by dissolving silver in aqua fortis and evaporating
- Lye – potash in a water solution, formed by leaching wood ashes
- Potash/Salt of tartar – potassium carbonate, formed by evaporating lye. K2CO3
- Pearlash – formed by baking potash in a kiln
- Massicot – lead monoxide, PbO
- Litharge – lead monoxide, formed by fusing and powdering massicot
- Minium/Red Lead – trilead tetroxide, Pb3O4; formed by roasting litharge in air
- Naples yellow/Cassel yellow – oxychloride of lead, formed by heating litharge with sal ammoniac
- Mercurius praecipitatus – red mercuric oxide
- Milk of Sulfur (lac sulphuris) – formed by adding an acid to thion hudor (lime sulfur)
- Mosaic gold – stannic sulfide, formed by heating a mixture of tin filings, sulfur, and sal-ammoniac
- Natron/Soda Ash/Soda – sodium carbonate, Na2CO3
- Nitrum Flammans – ammonium nitrate
- Oil of Tartar – concentrated potassium carbonate, K2CO3 solution
- Oil of Tartar per Deliquium – potassium carbonate dissolved in the water which its extracts from the air
- Oil of Vitriol/Spirit of Vitriol – sulfuric acid, a weak version can be formed by heating green vitriol and blue vitriol. H2SO4
- Orpiment – arsenic trisulfide, an ore of arsenic
- Pearl white – bismuth nitrate, BiNO3
- Philosophers' Wool/nix alba (white snow)/Zinc White – zinc oxide, formed by burning zinc in air, used as a pigment
- Plumbago – a mineral, graphite; not discovered in pure form until 1564
- Powder of Algaroth – antimonious oxychloride, formed by precipitation when a solution of butter of antimony and spirit of salt is poured into water
- Purple of Cassius – formed by precipitating a mixture of gold, stannous and stannic chlorides, with alkali. Used for glass coloring
- Quicksilver - Mercury
- Realgar – arsenic disulfide, an ore of arsenic
- Red Vitriol - cobalt sulfate[2]
- Regulus of antimony
- Resin of copper – copper(I) chloride (cuprous chloride), formed by heating copper with corrosive sublimate
- Sal Ammoniac – ammonium chloride
- Sal Petrae (Med. Latin: "stone salt")/Salt of Petra/Saltpetre/Nitrate of potash – potassium nitrate, KNO3, typically mined from covered dungheaps
- Salt/Common salt – A mineral; sodium chloride, NaCl, formed by evaporating seawater (impure form)
- Salt of Hartshorn/Sal Volatile – ammonium carbonate formed by distilling bones and horns
- Spirit of box/Pyroxylic spirit – methanol, CH3OH, distilled wood alcohol
- Spirit of Hartshorn – ammonia, formed by the decomposition of sal-ammoniac by unslaked lime
- Spirit of Salt/Acidum Salis – the liquid form of hydrochloric acid (also called muriatic acid), formed by mixing common salt with oil of vitriol
- Marine Acid Air – gaseous form of hydrochloric acid
- Spiritus fumans – stannic chloride, formed by distilling tin with corrosive sublimate
- Tin salt – hydrated stannous chloride
- Butter of tin – hydrated tin(IV) chloride
- Stibnite – antimony or antimony trisulfide, ore of antimony
- Sugar of Lead – lead(II) acetate, formed by dissolving lead oxide in vinegar
- Sweet Vitriol – diethyl ether. It could be made by mixing oil of vitriol with spirit of wine and heating it.[3]
- Thion Hudor – lime sulfur, formed by boiling flowers of sulfur with slaked lime
- Turpeth mineral – hydrolysed form of mercury(II) sulfate
- Verdigris – Carbonate of Copper or (more recently) copper(II) acetate. The carbonate is formed by weathering copper. The acetate is formed by vinegar acting on copper. One version was used as a green pigment.
- White arsenic – arsenious oxide, formed by subliminating arsenical soot from the roasting ovens
- White lead – carbonate of lead, a toxic pigment, produced by corroding stacks of lead plates with dilute vinegar beneath a heap of moistened wood shavings. (replaced by blanc fixe & lithopone)
- White vitriol – zinc sulfate, formed by lixiviating roasted zinc blende
- Venetian White – formed from equal parts of white lead and barium sulfate
- Zaffre – impure cobalt arsenate, formed after roasting cobalt ore
- Zinc Blende – zinc sulfide
References
- Gray, Theodore (2014). Molecules. 151 West 19th Street New York, NY 10011: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. pp. 27–31. ISBN 978-1-60376-396-7.CS1 maint: location (link)
- https://www.britannica.com/science/vitriol
- Gray, Theodore (2014). Molecules. 151 West 19th Street New York, NY 10011: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. pp. 27–31. ISBN 978-1-60376-396-7.CS1 maint: location (link)
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