One of the best-kept mysteries of medieval alchemy, fading gold exploding with purple smokeseems to have been discovered by researchers at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom. In a study recently published in the scientific journal Nanoscale Advances, the authors prove that “the color of the smoke is due to the presence of gold nanoparticles.”
Fulminate became gold the first highly explosive compound discovered by ancient alchemists in their famous quest to produce gold by the transmutation (chrysopeia) of base metals. One such mixture, gold fulminate, obtained by combining gold, ammonia, and chloride salts, proved to be dangerously unstable and explosive.
The experiment, first described in a book by German alchemist Sebald Schwaerzer in 1585, took about five days to complete. Over time, the process has been analyzed and refined, and in addition to many academic studies, the compound’s simple synthesis has been replicated by amateurs and YouTubers in search of acclaim for its amazing effects.
From Alchemy to Chemistry
The tireless search for the philosopher’s stone, A substance that can turn any substance into gold, sometimes to the point of madness. For example, the esteemed Italian alchemist Bernardo Trevisan predicted in the 15th century that the whites of 2,000 hardened eggs stored (and rotting) for eight years would produce a material that would turn anything into gold.
Although centuries and brilliant careers have been wasted on research that is fruitless and even ridiculous in the light of current knowledge, The importance of alchemists to modern chemistry and medicine cannot be denied.In addition to developing acids and reagents, they were also the first to create an organized space for experiments: the laboratory.
In their pioneering work, alchemists produced hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, potassium hydroxide, and other compounds, while also “drafting” the first periodic table by identifying some chemical elements, such as arsenic, antimony, and bismuth. It was in these smoky, smelly laboratories that the striking gold emerged.
The Truth About Purple Gold
The truth about lightning gold and purple gold is that they are two different concepts.. The first is a highly explosive ammoniacal gold compound, purple gold is a suspension of small gold particles in liquidHowever, the relationship between the two items remained unclear.
In the new study, the authors explain this strange pictorial relationship:[O ouro fulminante] “It has been used to coat objects with a purple/red patina, just as gold nanoparticle solutions can be used to coat substrates with purple/reddish layers.” However, these hypotheses have not yet been proven.
So the researchers created fulminate gold in the laboratory and then exploded 5 mg samples of the element in heated aluminum foil. “We captured the smoke using copper mesh and then analyzed the smoke sample in a transmission electron microscope,” Jan Maurycy Uszko, first author of the paper, said in a statement.
What is the relationship between Fulminant Gold and Purple Gold?
Smoke from a fading gold explosion observed under a transmission electron microscope finally revealed an old, never-proven hypothesis: that the smoke contained spherical gold nanoparticles. This confirmed the suspicion that gold played a role in the purple color of ancient alchemical smoke.
The spherical gold nanoparticles found in the smoke ranged in size from 30 nanometers to 300 nanometers. These dimensions, which are comparable to the wavelength of visible light, mean that these gold particles can interact with light through a phenomenon known as surface plasmon resonance, producing a purple color.
It can be experience to definitively explain the purple smoke rising from the fading gold, as well as to explain the purple color found in many objects in alchemical laboratoriesThe team now wants to apply this knowledge to potential practical applications, such as the rapid and efficient synthesis of superordered metallic nanoparticles, a lead that could revolutionize several sectors in materials science.
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Source: Tec Mundo
I’m Blaine Morgan, an experienced journalist and writer with over 8 years of experience in the tech industry. My expertise lies in writing about technology news and trends, covering everything from cutting-edge gadgets to emerging software developments. I’ve written for several leading publications including Gadget Onus where I am an author.
