Science - - Posted on April, 9 at 12:02 pm
The Iron Pillar of Delhi is proof enough that early Indian metallurgists had gained great proficiency in the extraction of metal and its casting. Their products were known and valued in the Roman world and in the Arab domain. Their knowledge, however, appears to have been only practical, not having led to a highly developed science of metallurgy.
Chemistry was developed not so much for use in any technology as it was to assist medicine. Though early Indian chemists showed no interest in turning metal into gold when there were attempts by alchemists at this across the world, they seemed more intent in discovering newer chemicals for making medicines. They attempted to fabricate drugs to promote longevity, aphrodisiacs, poisons, and their antidotes. These medical chemists formulated many important alkalis, acids and metallic salts by simple processes of calcinations and distillation.
The liquid metal mercury fascinated Indian chemists of the middle Ages, like those in China, the Islamic world and Europe. They experimented with it and believed that it was the panacea for all diseases and a source of perpetual youth. This unfortunate preoccupation with the shiny metal seemed to have led ancient chemistry astray.
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