Cracking the Philosophers' Stone is a combination of historical commentary with reproducible chemistry that thoroughly analyses one of the most respected and mysterious chemical reactions in the history of science and technology. This book guides the reader through the origins and evolution of the archetypal recipe for the Philosophers' Stone of early Alexandrian alchemy. LaPort and Gabrielsson also provide details for various chemical reproductions based on the authors' interpretation and hypotheses of ancient chemistry preserved in encrypted form in alchemical texts. Because of the human...