Topic 4 Information From Documentaries
While there are no lectures for week 4 (i.e., Chinese new year), the following pieces of information from the selected documentaries are examinable nonetheless2:
4.1 Al-Khalili’s Science and Islam
Only the following parts of the documentary are examinable during CM5003 examinations:
- 9 minutes 36 seconds – 20 minutes 20 seconds
- 1 hour 27 minutes 33 seconds – 1 hour 41 minutes 49 seconds
The Abbasid caliphs (i.e., a group of individuals) had previous claimed the rights to rule by stating that they were directly related of the prophet Mohammed.
"I think one must bear in mind that this is an era in which people believed in God, and the dramatic success of the Arabs as they poured out of Arabia were such that a lot of people did observe and say they must have God on their side.
This must be the true god, and some people did convert, or if they didn’t convert, they did submit to Arab-Muslim political control for that reason."
– Dr. Amira Bennison (University of Cambridge)
However, in the short period of their statement, Islamic armies had already conquered a large amount of land: starting from Medina, they took down North Africa, Spain, Persia, and the Levant.
4.1.1 Importance of political power, religion, and scientific knowledge
Needless to say, the caliphs ruled vast lands from the 8th century onwards - these people knew that political power and scientific knowledge go hand-in-hand. After all, medical knowledge could save lives, military technology could win wars, and mathematics could help deal with the increasing complexities of the state’s finances!
Islam itself also played a huge role: the prophet himself told his believers to go and seek knowledge (even if it meant going as far as China). To many Muslims, Al-Khalili was sure that understanding “God’s creation” was a religious duty, but to many of the elite in the Islamic empire, knowledge was proof that the Islamic empire is superior to other empires of the world!
4.1.2 Birth and rise of Arabic language
Because the Islamic empire was so big, it had many traditions and languages. How would one sensibly govern such a population?
During the 8th century AD, Caliph Abdul Malik - the empire’s leader - found a way to solve the aforementioned problem. His solution was “sweeping in scale” and laid the foundations of a scientific renaissance.
"It was this Abdul Malik who said this bureaucratic chaos has to stop. We cannot continue to run the government and govern all this span of land with this tower of Babel languages.
He wanted to govern it with a uniform language and that language was one he wanted to understand, so he demanded that it be in Arabic."
Dr. George Saliba (Columbia University)
Malik’s decision also had extra force and persuasiveness no thanks to the Qur’an3 - Islam’s holy book (i.e., like the Bible) - being written in Arabic. Hence, Muslims also considered Arabic to be the language of God.
4.1.2.1 Enforcement of the Arabic language
Arabic calligraphy was forced onto the population because of the rise of Islam - the leaders were afraid that the meaning of the Qu’ran would be lost if it was read by those who didn’t speak Arabic or by those who couldn’t distinguish between letters.
For this reason, not only did Arabic calligraphy have dots on certain letters, but it also had squiggly lines to change the vowels of letters.
"What this meant was the summoning into existence of a vast intellectual community, where scholars from very different parts of the world could engage in dialogue, comparison, debate, argument, often very fierce argument with each other.
It was possible for scholars based in Cordoba in southern Spain to engage in literary and scientific debate with scholars from Baghdad or from Samarkand."
– Dr. Simon Schaffer (University of Cambridge)
The consequences of the aforementioned were obvious: scholars from different lands who previously had no way of communicating with one another suddenly had a common language: a language that was designed to be precise.
4.1.3 Translation movement
By the early 800s, the ruling elite of the Islamic empire were pouring money into an ambitious project (global in scale) - to scour the libraries of the world for scientific and philosophical manuscripts in any language: Greek, Syriac, Persian, and Sanskrit and bring them to the empire and translate them into Arabic.
"To give some sense of the extent of the activities between 750 and 950, somebody called Al Nadim, who wrote a list of the ingelligentsia of the Abbasid era, lists 70 translators, so it was quite a large cohort of people involved in translations.
And obviously, he only named the well-known translators. They could get up to 500 gold dinars a month, which is probably around 24000 [dollars]. Which is a huge sum of money for what they were doing. It was a very prestigious, well-paid, well-patronized activity."
– Dr. Amira Bennison (Univeristy of Cambridge)
Scholars who were involved in the above was because bringing a new book to the caliph could be incredibly lucrative. There goes a legend that the caliph al-Ma’mun was so obsessed with the project that he’d send messengers out of Baghdad as far out as possible just to get books that he didn’t have. Anybody who brought back a book that he didn’t have - he’d repay them the book’s weight in gold.
4.1.3.1 Destruction of the library
The original library (where all the books were kept) was destroyed at Alexandria centuries earlier (which resulted in the loss of thousands of years’ worth of knowledge).
4.1.4 Rise of alchemy
Alchemy - the quest to transform base metal (i.e., silver, lead, etc.) into gold. While this ancient practice was based on spells, symbols, and magic, the Islamic empire managed to turn this practice into something more scientific: chemistry.
OVer time, alchemy had more and more practical applications. Near the end of the 7th century, Abdul Malik made the decision to create a common currency - he relied on alchemists for help.
The latter was because gold itself was too soft (i.e., it was too malleable lest a coin made of gold would lose its shape) - only the alchemists knew how to combine metals in the right proportions so that coins (and Islamic currency) wouldn’t lose its shape!
Nonetheless, what is striking about chemistry in the Islamic empire is the amount of scripture on the subject ranging from dyeing to metallurgy to smelting. This points to a bustling economy with its people demanding new technology and innovation. This rise in technology also led to some major innovations:
4.1.4.1 Soap
Figure 4.1: Three Blocks of Soap Atop a Soap Holder
Soap was practically unknown in Northern Europe until the 13th century (when it started being imported from North Africa and Spain). By the 13th century, soap production in the Islamic empire had became virtually industralized.
A 12th century document has the description on how to make soap. It mentions a key ingredient - an alkali - that was crucial in chemistry later on. It might also interest one to know that alkali derives from the word al-kali, meaning “ash” in English.
Back then, alkali was manufactured from the roots of certain plants like saltworts.
4.1.4.2 Glassmaking
Figure 4.2: Beautiful Islamic Glassware in a Mosque
Islamic chemists discovered that they could change the color of glass by introducing new chemicals like manganese salts. They even built industrial furnaces (spanning multiple stories) for production. They also developed many other colors using their alkalis and other metals (e.g., lead and tin), helping architects to decorate mosques in a glorious range of colors and designs.
4.1.4.3 Perfumes
Islamic Chemistry lead to the development and the refinement of distillation
Distillation was done in devices called a retort (a device that isn’t really used today). The word “retort” meant “to bend”.
Figure 4.3: A Retort on Display
In a retort, gas would collect near the neck of the apparatus - this device was also the main way to collect scents from plants. The trick to using a retort was to use heat to release scent molecules, but also ensuring that delicate substances aren’t destroyed in the process.
During the reign of the Islamic empire, perfumes were sold as far as China and India.
4.1.4.4 Weaponry
Historical records during the crusades talk about the Islams’ attack on the Christians with burning missiles and grenades (hence striking fear into the hearts of defenders). Many of these weapons used a substance called greek fire:
Figure 4.4: Greek Fire as a Weapon in Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
Islamic chemists were able to improve on the substance using petroleum. Chemists distilled petroleum to yield a lighter, more flammable oil which they then mixed with other chemicals to make them burn furiously.
4.1.5 Contributions of Islamic chemistry to modern chemistry
Islamic chemists used experimental observations to classify the elements that the world is made of.
At the forefront of this was a medieval Islamic chemist and doctor called Muhammad Ibn Zakariya al-Razi. His classifications were very different from the Greeks’ - he proposed that minerals should be classified into six groups depending on their observed chemical properties (he was also started our modern idea of classification):
Spirits
These were flammable!
Metallic bodies
These were shiny and malleable!
Stones
Salts
These dissolved in water
Vitriols
Boraxes
Each of the above had different chemical properties!
4.2 Alchemy: the Science of Magic
The entire documentary is examinable.
There is no denying that gold is a precious commodity; many love gold for its monetary value and some for its symbolism (for what they yearn it to be).
"Gold is the perfect metal. You can take [a] gold ring [and can] leave it in seawater [and] it will not corrode.
Silver will, iron will, [and] even lead will degrade over time."
– Kevin Andrew Murphy, author of Dark Fantasy and Gothic Fiction
The pharaohs of Egypt were the first to mine gold some 5000 years ago. In a land filled with superstition (i.e., the Egyptian gods) and riches, the quest for riches and the search for divine wisdom became one goal: to perfect the human soul and to turn baser metal into gold.
4.2.1 Beginnings of Alchemy
4.3 The Mystery of Matter: “OUT OF THIN AIR”
Only the first half of the video (i.e., 30 minutes and 20 seconds mark) is examinable.
In 1669, German alchemist Hennig Brandt was searching for a way to make gold. For some time, Brandt focused his efforts on urine: he was certain that the “golden liquid” held the key.
Brandt had boiled down the urine to a concentrated paste - he then subjected the paste to intense heat and stumbled upon the element phosphorus. Hence, this was how the discovery of elements began.
4.3.1 Mysteries of air
One of the first big clues in solving the mystery of matter came from the discovery of air: the most immaterial substance known at the time. While people always knew about air, they did not know that there was more than one kind of “air”.
In 1754, Scottish physician Joseph Black was attempting to find a cure for kidney stones. When he poured acid onto a chalky substance (likely Mg(CO3)2) and trapped the air that came out of the reaction, he realized that the “air” trapped wasn’t anything like air!
The air was heavier than air itself - hence the term fixed air (or what modern chemists call CO2). From this, it was realized that there was a third state of matter - gases - of which air and “fixed” air were just two examples.
Since then, British scientists quickly discovered two new gases: hydrogen and nitrogen.
4.3.1.1 On Joseph Priestly
“Priestley’s style of science is very interesting. He’s a kind of inspired forager. He’s basically messing around with different things to see what will happen. One of the things Priestley did [laugh] was to pour acid on everything. He collected those bubbles, tested them thoroughly and discovered all sorts of amazing properties.”
– Historian Seymour Mauskoff
Via messing around in the above blockquote, Priestly was able to discover nine new gases: more than anybody else in the world.
4.3.1.1.1 Invention of soda water
In 1767, Priestly was assigned a new congregation.
“They put him in a house that happens to be right next to a brewery. And this turns out to be an incredible [laugh] stroke of good luck. Priestley, being the kind of constant investigator that he was, would kind of pop over and see what was going on at this brewery.”
– Biographer Steven Johnson
Priestly found that if he poured water from one glass to another over the surface of the distillery’s vats, that the result was bubbly. By 1772, Priestly had invented a better method: injecting CO2 directly into the water.
A British doctor then suggested that Priestly’s soda water might be effective in treating scurvy on long voyages.
During the same year, Priestly addressed the Royal Society and also published a pamphlet describing his method for making soda water - he also urged the navy to test the potential cure (which ultimately proved ineffective).
4.3.2 Joao Jacinto de Magellan and pals
Magellan was a Portuguese monk who was serving as a French industrial spy. Nevertheless, Magellan sent Priestly’s instructions to his handler in France: commerce minister Jean Charles Trudaine de Montigny.
Trudaine was interested in the sciences and called on one of France’s brightest scientists: Antoine Laurent Lavoisier
4.3.3 Antoine Lavoisier
He was born into a well-to-do family and had received a fine education and a degree in law. He was also a part of a consortium of individuals who collected taxes for King Louis the XV and was also a tax administrator during the day.
Nonetheless, Lavoisier eagerly studied the works of Black, Priestly, and other British chemists who had pioneered the study of “airs”.
4.3.3.1 Why was the study of “air” so important?
The study of airs threatened to topple a theory that was inspired by the mystery of fire. Many chemists thought that fire was due to some “fiery principle” that was given up during combustion - phlogiston - as it was called in the 1700s.
Phlogiston reigned supreme for centuries as it seemed to explain phenomena like rusting metal.
4.3.3.1.1 Phlogiston’s explanation of rust
When iron ore was heated in the presence of charcoal, phlogiston from the charcoal fused with the ore to form metallic iron. When iron was exposed to air or water, the metal then released phlogiston as it rusted.
In other terms, the following equations:
\[\begin{align*} \text{Ore + Phlogiston} &\rightarrow \text{Metal} \\ \text{Metal - Phlogiston} &\rightarrow \text{Rust} \end{align*}\]
4.3.3.2 Conundrum of calxes gaining weight
In October 1772, Lavoisier set out to explain why metals would gain weight when they form calxes (i.e., rust).
Lavoisier conducted experiments in public, relying on a huge burning lens that focused the sun’s rays to produce an intense heat (while bystanders watched in amusement).
Figure 4.5: Lavoisier’s Experiment Involving a Giant Lens
Nevertheless, Lavoisier placed some lead calx, some charcoal, and some water into a glass vessel and subjected everything to the burning heat of the lens. The result was extraordinary.
However, calx was heavier than the metal even though phlogiston had left the metal. In other terms, the metal lost something and yet it became heavier.
This lead to an all-important question: If air came out as the calx changed back into a metal, could it have gone in when the calx was formed? Could air be reason calxes were heavier than expected?
4.3.4 Marie Anne Paulze
Marie Anne Paulze was Lavoisier’s wife (married at 13) and one of Lavoisier’s business partner’s daughters. According to official sources, she was bright, outgoing, and mature beyond her years.
“Marie Lavoisier’s drawings give us the eyes to look directly into Lavoisier’s laboratory. We can see the people. We can see the devices. We can see thearrangement of those devices. We can understand what Lavoisier did so much better because of what Marie drew.”
– Historian Alan Rocke
One of her most important roles was to create diagrams and illustrations for her husband’s published work.
4.3.5 Priestly and the red calx of mercury
During 1771, Priestly had began studying something called the red calx of mercury. Chemists during the 18th century found something unusual about this calx: it could be converted straight back into mercury by simple heating. No source of phlogiston was needed.
In 1774, Priestly obtained a small sample of the calx and used his burning lens to heat it with sunlight. Priestly then collects the air - if the air evolved was fixed air, then there was no question that the candle would go out. Yet, when he placed a candle inside the evolved gas, the candle burned more furiously.
Priestly even went as far as to put a mouse inside the air - instead of surviving 15 minutes or so, the mouse ended up surviving half an hour. Eventually, Priestly gained the courage to breathe it in himself - he noted that while the air doesn’t feel any different, that he felt light and easy. He even noted that in time, that the air he had isolated could be used for medicinal or even recreational purposes!
Two months later, Priestly was invited to dine with members of the Royal Academy of Sciences, including Antoine Lavoisier himself.
4.3.6 Lavoisier and the red calx
Lavoisier himself followed in Priestly’s methods and got the same results that Priestly did.
Lavoisier then named the gas oxygen. However, Lavoisier did not make any mentions of Priestly’s name when he announced his findings in the 1775 Easter meeting of the Academy of Sciences. Once Priestly heard about this, he objected.