Part I: Genesis – On Generation and Corruption – Page 2

[Old] The story so far…

Apr 17, 2020

As I make this sketch it has begun to become apparent which of the ideas form its golden threads and the manner of their appearance. One of those threads is that of the lion of alchemy…

[Old] Chapter 5: Radioactivity, Isotopes and the Taming of the Atom[New Ch.13 V0.1.2]

Apr 11, 2020

The so-called uncuttable atom proved to hold a deeper secret. Something of that story is given in the second half of the Wikipedia article on Atomic Theory…

[Old] Chapter 4: The Hypothetical Atom [New Ch.8 V0.2.2]

Apr 11, 2020

The story of the atom is a long and complex one. Their existence was hypothesised largely because they were easy to imagine and even easier to mathematize – as easy as one, two, three! They were generally considered to be very small, solid and like billiard balls in their collisions. Some believed that they possessed…

[Old] Chapter 1: The Origins of Chemistry

Apr 8, 2020

The mysteries to be explored in this book largely fall under the subject matter of chemistry. Though I was not particularly talented at school or university in the practical art of chemistry, I have always been fascinated by its magical qualities. There is something deeply mysterious about it….

Mathematics

Jan 24, 2020

Galileo, Descartes, Newton and the quantification of the physical world – mechanics…

[Old] Chemistry [New Ch.7]

Jan 24, 2020

Late eighteenth century – Lavoisier’s quantitative chemistry – early nineteenth century developments – material world conception – ends mainstream vitalistic ideas…

[Old] Greek & Medieval Ideas

Jan 24, 2020

Ancient Greek physics – developing an understanding of knowledge – epistemology – and the natural world – physics – a world of beings – entities which exist – Plato and Aristotle expressed the same holistic ideas – from different perspectives. The essence of things – ousia – thinghood. Also the concepts of matter, atoms, and…