Rhazes’ Contributions to Alchemy and Pharmacy

Context: Persia has been the cradle of science across human history. Many of today’s concepts in science, such as the finite speed of light and alcohol distillation, were first proposed by Persian scientists. Mohammad ibn Zakariya Razi (Rhazes) is undoubtedly one of the greatest Persian scientists over human history. Evidence Acquisition: In this paper, in addition to a brief review of the history of pharmacy and chemistry sciences in Persia, Rhazes’ valuable books in the fields of pharmacy and chemistry, along with a brief description of them, were introduced. Data were extracted from different historical and bibliography books and also the citation databases of PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Results: Rhazes’ books and treatises in the fields of pharmacy and chemistry have been classified into three categories: 1) the books and treatises containing some sections on pharmacy like Al-Hawi fi al-Tibb (Liber Continens) and Al-Mansouri fi al-Tibb, 2) those written merely on pharmacy, like Qarabadin (pharmacopeia), and 3) the books focusing on alchemy (kimia), like Sirr al-Asrar (Secret of secrets) and Al Asrar (Liber Secretorum). Three volumes of Al Hawi fi al-Tibb were applied as a reference in pharmacology in Western universities for many years. Sirr al-Asrar is his most important book on alchemy, describing raw materials used in alchemy, experimental apparatus necessary for alchemical investigations, and detailed procedures for the chemical manipulation of arsenic and sulfur. Conclusions: These valuable manuscripts demonstrate the ancient heritage of Persians and the great roles and contributions of Persian scientists in the history of science.

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Architectural ruins: geoculture of the anatomy of buildings as illustrated by Casa Ippolito, Malta

Heritage Science ◽

10.1186/s40494-021-00500-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Lino Bianco

Keyword(s):

Material Culture ◽

Building Materials ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Primary Source ◽

Secondary Sources ◽

Non Invasive ◽

History Of ◽

Aerial Vehicle ◽

Materials Used ◽

Building Physics

AbstractRuins are a statement on the building materials used and the construction method employed. Casa Ippolito, now in ruins, is typical of 17th-century Maltese aristocratic country residences. It represents an illustration of secondary or anthropogenic geodiversity. This paper scrutinises these ruins as a primary source in reconstructing the building’s architecture. The methodology involved on-site geographical surveying, including visual inspection and non-invasive tests, a geological survey of the local lithostratigraphy, and examination of notarial deeds and secondary sources to support findings about the building’s history as read from its ruins. An unmanned aerial vehicle was used to digitally record the parlous state of the architectural structure and karsten tubes were used to quantify the surface porosity of the limestone. The results are expressed from four perspectives. The anatomy of Casa Ippolito, as revealed in its ruins, provides a cross-section of its building history and shows two distinct phases in its construction. The tissue of Casa Ippolito—the building elements and materials—speaks of the knowledge of raw materials and their properties among the builders who worked on both phases. The architectural history of Casa Ippolito reveals how it supported its inhabitants’ wellbeing in terms of shelter, water and food. Finally, the ruins in their present state bring to the fore the site’s potential for cultural tourism. This case study aims to show that such ruins are not just geocultural remains of historical built fabric. They are open wounds in the built structure; they underpin the anatomy of the building and support insights into its former dynamics. Ruins offer an essay in material culture and building physics. Architectural ruins of masonry structures are anthropogenic discourse rendered in stone which facilitate not only the reconstruction of spaces but also places for human users; they are a statement on the wellbeing of humanity throughout history.

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Does Physics Answer Metaphysical Questions?

Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplement ◽

10.1017/s1358246107000197 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 61 ◽

pp. 179-201 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

James Ladyman

Keyword(s):

Conceptual Framework ◽

History Of Science ◽

A Priori ◽

Logical Empiricism ◽

Logical Positivism ◽

Speed Of Light ◽

Michael Friedman ◽

Rational Thought ◽

History Of ◽

The One

According to logical positivism, so the story goes, metaphysical questions are meaningless, since they do not admit of empirical confirmation or refutation. However, the logical positivists did not in fact reject as meaningless all questions about for example, the structure of space and time. Rather, key figures such as Reichenbach and Schlick believed that scientific theories often presupposed a conceptual framework that was not itself empirically testable, but which was required for the theory as a whole to be empirically testable. For example, the theory of Special Relativity relies upon the simultaneity convention introduced by Einstein that assumes that the one-way speed of light is the same in all directions of space. Hence, the logical positivists accepted an a priori component to physical theories. However, they denied that this a priori component is necessarily true. Whereas for Kant, metaphysics is the a priori science of the necessary structure of rational thought about reality (rather than about things in themselves), the logical positivists were forced by the history of science to accept that the a priori structure of theories could change. Hence, they defended a notion of what Michael Friedman (1999) calls the ‘relativised’ or the ‘constitutive’ a priori. Carnap and Reichenbach held that such an a priori framework was conventional, whereas Schlick seems to have been more of a realist and held that the overall relative simplicity of different theories could count as evidence for their truth, notwithstanding the fact that some parts of them are not directly testable. All this is part of the story of how the verification principle came to be abandoned, and how logical positivism transmuted into logical empiricism.

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Szklary nickel deposit — a review and introduction to attempts in hydrometallurgical processing

Mineral Economics ◽

10.1007/s13563-021-00269-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Wojciech Kaczan ◽

Jan Kudełko ◽

Herbert Wirth

Keyword(s):

Fifteenth Century ◽

Circular Economy ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Heap Leaching ◽

Nickel Deposit ◽

Hydrometallurgical Processing ◽

History Of ◽

Materials Used ◽

Future Project ◽

Pilot Tests

AbstractSzklary Massif is situated about 60 km from Wrocław (southwestern Poland) and around 7 km from Ząbkowice Śląskie. The history of raw materials in this region started in the fifteenth century with the discovery of precious minerals like chrysoprase, chalcedony, and opal. The exploitation of nickel ore in this region started in the nineteenth century and was conducted with few stops until 1983. The remaining 17.21 mln mg of ore with 125,000 mg of nickel might be a chance to satisfy rising demand for raw materials used to develop electromobility. One of the crucial aspects regarding possible investment is the processing of ore. The pilot tests show the efficient use of heap leaching. The authors provide the future project in Szklary within the framework of circular economy.

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Architectural Ruins: Geoculture of the anatomy of buildings as illustrated by Casa Ippolito, Malta

10.21203/rs.3.rs-73140/v4 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lino Bianco

Keyword(s):

Material Culture ◽

Building Materials ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Primary Source ◽

Secondary Sources ◽

Non Invasive ◽

History Of ◽

Aerial Vehicle ◽

Materials Used ◽

Building Physics

Abstract Ruins are a statement on the building materials used and the construction method employed. Casa Ippolito, now in ruins, is typical of seventeenth-century Maltese aristocratic country residences. It represents an illustration of secondary or anthropogenic geodiversity. This paper scrutinises these ruins as a primary source in reconstructing the building’s architecture. The methodology involved on-site geographical surveying, including visual inspection and non-invasive tests, a geological survey of the local lithostratigraphy, and examination of notarial deeds and secondary sources to support findings about the building’s history as read from its ruins. An unmanned aerial vehicle was used to digitally record the parlous state of the architectural structure and karsten tubes were used to quantify the surface porosity of the limestone. The results are expressed from four perspectives. The anatomy of Casa Ippolito, as revealed in its ruins, provides a cross-section of its building history and shows two distinct phases in its construction. The tissue of Casa Ippolito – the building elements and materials – speaks of the knowledge of raw materials and their properties among the builders who worked on both phases. The architectural history of Casa Ippolito reveals how it supported its inhabitants’ wellbeing in terms of shelter, water and food. Finally, the ruins in their present state bring to the fore the site’s potential for cultural tourism. This case study aims to show that such ruins are not just geocultural remains of historical built fabric. They are open wounds in the built structure; they underpin the anatomy of the building and support insights into its former dynamics. Ruins offer an essay in material culture and building physics. Architectural ruins of masonry structures are anthropogenic discourse rendered in stone which facilitate not only the reconstruction of spaces but also places for human users; they are a statement on the wellbeing of humanity throughout history.

Download Full-text

Does Physics Answer Metaphysical Questions?

Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplement ◽

10.1017/s1358246100009796 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 61 ◽

pp. 179-201

Author(s):

James Ladyman

Keyword(s):

Conceptual Framework ◽

History Of Science ◽

A Priori ◽

Logical Empiricism ◽

Logical Positivism ◽

Speed Of Light ◽

Michael Friedman ◽

Rational Thought ◽

History Of ◽

The One

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Architectural Ruins: A geocultural essay on the anatomy of buildings as illustrated by Casa Ippolito, Malta

10.21203/rs.3.rs-73140/v3 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Lino Bianco

Keyword(s):

Material Culture ◽

Building Materials ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Primary Source ◽

Secondary Sources ◽

Non Invasive ◽

History Of ◽

Materials Used ◽

Building Physics

Abstract Ruins are a statement on the building materials used and the construction method employed. Casa Ippolito, now in ruins, is typical of seventeenth-century Maltese aristocratic country residences. It represents an illustration of secondary or anthropogenic geodiversity. This paper scrutinises these ruins as a primary source in reconstructing the building’s architecture. The methodology involved on-site geographical surveying, including visual inspection and non-invasive tests, a geological survey of the local lithostratigraphy, and examination of notarial deeds and secondary sources to support findings about the building’s history as read from its ruins. The results are expressed from four perspectives. The anatomy of Casa Ippolito, as revealed in its ruins, provides a cross-section of its construction history and shows two distinct phases in its construction. The tissue of Casa Ippolito – the building elements and materials – speaks of the knowledge of raw materials and their properties among the builders who worked on both phases of its construction. The architectural history of Casa Ippolito reveals how it met its inhabitants’ needs for shelter, water and food. Finally, the ruins in their present state bring to the fore the site’s potential for cultural tourism. This case study aims to show that such ruins are not just geocultural remains of historical built fabric. They are open wounds in the built structure; they underpin the anatomy of the building and support insights into its former dynamics. Ruins offer an essay in material culture and building physics. Architectural ruins of masonry structures are anthropogenic essays rendered in stone which facilitate not only the reconstruction of spaces but also places for human users; they are a statement on the wellbeing of humanity throughout history.

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Book review: Bones and Ochre: The Curious Afterlife of the Red Lady of Paviland. Marianne Sommer. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007, xii + 398 pp, list of archives consulted, 14 figures, 2 appendices.

NEXUS: The Canadian Student Journal of Anthropology ◽

10.15173/nexus.v21i1.218 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Heather T. Battles

Keyword(s):

History Of Science ◽

Harvard University ◽

Material Object ◽

Natural Material ◽

Human History ◽

History Of ◽

Nineteenth And Twentieth Centuries

In Bones and Ochre, author Marianne Sommer, a historian of science, aims to address her discipline’s neglect of paleoanthropology and prehistoric archeology (11). Sommer situates her book among other recent works in the history of science, such as Keller (2000), Secord (2000), and Daston (2000; 2004), as well as those which contextualize the anthropological sciences, including Hammond (1980), Bowler (1986), and Delisle (2007). Drawing on both published and archival sources, Sommer takes on the large task of tracing the history of paleoanthropology through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as she follows the changing biography of the “Red Lady of Paviland.” She uses this ochre-stained fossil skeleton and its role (along with that of associated artifacts) as an “anthropological object,” at once a natural, material object and meaningful concept (6), to demonstrate the historically contingent nature of anthropological interpretation, as the Red Lady’s age, sex, ethnicity, and place in human history shift multiple times from discovery in 1823 to the present day.

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