Atoms and alchemy chymistry and the experimental origins of the scientific revolution / [electronic resource] :
William R. Newman.
- University of Chicago Press, 2006.
- 1 online resource (xiii, 250 p., 8 p. of plates) : col. ill.
Includes bibliographical references (p. [227]-240) and index.
The problematic position of alchemy in the scientific revolution -- 1. The mise en scéne before Sennert. The medieval tradition of alchemical corpuscular theory ; Erastus and the critique of chemical analysis ; Aristotelian corpuscular theory and Andreas Libavius -- 2. Daniel Sennert's atomism and the reform of Aristotelian matter theory. The corpuscular theory of Daniel Sennert and its sources -- The interplay of structure and essence in Sennert's corpuscular theory -- 3. Robert Boyle's matter theory. Boyle, Sennert, and the mechanical philosophy -- Boyle's use of chymical corpuscles and the reduction to the pristine state to demonstrate the mechanical origin of qualities.