In the fictional world of the Fullmetal Alchemist anime series, Equivalent Exchange (等価交換, Tōka Kōkan^?) is a version of the Antoine Lavoisier's law of conservation of matter, and the primary law that governs the practice of alchemy. Alchemist Alphonse Elric offers this simple explanation of the law after restoring a broken radio: Serialized in Monthly Shonen Gangan Original run February 2002 – still running No. ... “Animé” redirects here. ... Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier (August 26, 1743 – May 8, 1794), the father of modern chemistry [1], was a French nobleman prominent in the histories of chemistry, finance, biology, and economics. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... For other uses, see Alchemy (disambiguation). ... Alphonse Elric ) is the name of a character from Fullmetal Alchemist. ...

Aside from being an actual physical law, however, the principle of Equivalent Exchange is also adopted by some alchemists - the Elrics included - as a karmic way of life, believing the hard work, effort and suffering that one puts into any task will be met with an equivalent reward. For other uses, see Karma (disambiguation). ...

Final conclusion about the law from the anime

The physical principle of Equivalent Exchange in the transmutation of matter is an absolute truth. It is impossible to generate matter where none existed before - even though use of a Philosopher's Stone is thought to supersede the law, this is not truly the case (see below).

Beyond this, however, the many hardships that the Elrics face on their adventures lead them to question how viable it is as a way to live one's life. They see many individuals put hard work in, only to be met with no reward, and see many lives sacrificed in the name of individuals - situations in which no equivalency appears to exist. After being confronted with this by Dante, Edward Elric finally concluded that the world was too complex a place for the law to apply to everything in life, and too imperfect for one law to explain everything, but he still chose to believe in the principle the law represents. Dantes first-seen body, in Dante of the Deep Forest. Dante is the main antagonist of the Fullmetal Alchemist anime, first introduced in Dante of the Deep Forest. As the master of the Homunculi and a formidable alchemist herself, Dante is responsible for setting in motion the events of... Full Metal redirects here. ...

Human transmutation

Complete human transmutation using alchemy is not possible under the physical law of Equivalent Exchange. Even though they have the knowledge of what elements make up a human body, one's soul could not be transmuted along with the artificial body. Equivalent Exchange does not apply for a life, since one life doesn't always equal another. Failed attempts at human transmutation create Homunculi, or created humans that do not have a soul. As another result, if the alchemist is able to survive human transmutation, the alchemist will lose body parts in order to exchange for the energy required to animate the Homunculus. They sometimes have some memories of the ones that they were meant to be. The anime states that these memories are probably just the aspirations of the alchemist who created the Homunculus implanted in its mind. However, other characters suggested it may be because the Homunculus is just an incomplete version of the person they were meant to be. Spoiler warning: Homunculi are artificially generated beings, retaining human physical form and mental capabilities, but having an abnormality of the definitive trait of life that is a soul, whose existence is replaced and replicated, to some slight degree, with the material created from uncountable amount of soul called philosophers...

When created, they do not have a true human shape, and are merely piles of flesh, but as time passes and as they eat Red Stones, their body gains a human form (namely, the one they were supposed to be when the alchemist that created them attempted a human transmutation).

The series does not explain the nature of: human transmutation, the Gate of Alchemy, its workings, the relation of deceased human souls to the gateway, creatures in the gate explained, and their relationship to a Homunculus (if any). The Gate of Alchemy in the episode Untainted Child. ...

As far as human transmutation, the series shows that it is possible through the Philosopher's Stone to create a perfect human body and to attach souls to bodies. The only component of human transmutation never shown is the extraction of the soul of a deceased human from the gate.

Known Attempted Human Transmutations

• Trisha Elric- failed in the manga; reincarnated as Sloth later in the anime
• Izumi Curtis' child- failed in the manga, reincarnated as Wrath later in the anime
• Scar's brother's fiancée (anime only)- failed, reincarnated as Lust
• Hohenheim and Dante's child (anime only)- failed, reincarnated as Envy
• Karin (anime only)- failed, due to the fact that the alchemist performing the transmutation, Majhal, did not know that Karin was still alive, and thus had to pay no toll.
• Rosalie Harbinger (Profile Book 1 Bonus Manga)- failed, but came surprisingly close. The thing brought back kept a human form, kept Rosalie's original hair color, and could even move slightly.
• Elma- failed; video-game exclusive character
• Nina Tucker (anime only)- Succeeded, more or less. Nina was a flawless human transmutation; however, the alchemist (Shou Tucker) did not have enough will to attach her soul, leaving her a husk.

Izumi Curtis in One is All, All is One Izumi Curtis ) is the name of a character from Fullmetal Alchemist. ... Hohenheim, in Hohenheim of Light. In the anime and manga series Fullmetal Alchemist, Hohenheim is the father of the protagonists, Edward and Alphonse Elric. ... Dantes first-seen body, in Dante of the Deep Forest. Dante is the main antagonist of the Fullmetal Alchemist anime, first introduced in Dante of the Deep Forest. As the master of the Homunculi and a formidable alchemist herself, Dante is responsible for setting in motion the events of...

Philosopher's Stone

The Philosopher's Stone is thought by alchemists to allow the keeper to bypass Equivalent Exchange. The stone actually provides a way for the energy of human souls to be stored and channelled as a direct source of energy and material for transmutations. When the Philosopher's Stone is used, a certain number of souls are used up and taken away, lessening the stone's power, and eventually the number of souls deplete fully, and the stone erodes away. So in reality the stone does not bypass the Equivalent Exchange but provides an alternative to what is exchanged. It is possible through transmutation to turn an inanimate object or even a person into the stone. For example, Scar transferred the array onto Alphonse's armor, and then used the array to perform the Grand Arcanum, which created the stone out of Alphonse's armor. But when an object or body is transformed, it will decay and disappear in proportion to the erosion of the stone. It was also suggested in the series that if one of the Homunculi were to consume an object that was turned into the stone, the stone would revert to its perfect crystal form, which is why Dante orders Gluttony to consume Al to form a complete stone in his stomach. In the anime/manga Fullmetal Alchemist, the Philosophers Stone is the central element that drives the plot, and the object of the Elric Brothers (the storys protagonists) search. ...

In the manga version, a Philosopher's Stone is instrumental in creating Homunculi. Human components are gathered around the Philosopher's Stone and then transmuted into the Homunculus. The concept of a homunculus (Latin for little man, sometimes spelled homonculus, plural homunculi) is often used to illustrate the functioning of a system. ...

Comparisons to contemporary science

Thermodynamics

The scientific laws of thermodynamics draws a similarity to the alchemist law of equivalent exchange. The first law of thermodynamics states that energy can be converted from one form to another but cannot be created or destroyed. This shows the example of how obtaining something, or transmuting something through alchemy, requires material of equal value in order to operate. The first law of thermodynamics, a generalized expression of the law of the conservation of energy, states: // Description Essentially, the First Law of Thermodynamics declares that energy is conserved for a closed system, with heat and work being the forms of energy transfer. ... // Transmutation is the conversion of one object into another. ... For other uses, see Alchemy (disambiguation). ...

The second law of thermodynamics continues on with the context of entropy, where there is a certain amount of energy that cannot be used for any work or process. Even alchemical processes are not immune to entropy, as most alchemists are required to create a transmutation circle. Though the circle can be repeatedly used (as it is simply a gateway equation to allow alchemical energy to be channeled), the power that is drawn from the transmutation circle equation cannot be apparently used to "create" or "destroy" matter. For alchemists that have seen the Gate of Alchemy, the knowledge of transmutation without a circle is gained and can "channel" alchemical energy directly. However this energy, with or without a circle, still comes from the same source: the lives that die on the other side of the gate. These lives power the energy required for alchemical reactions and completes the alchemist law of Equivalent Exchange. The second law of thermodynamics is an expression of the universal law of increasing entropy. ... Ice melting - classic example of entropy increasing[1] described in 1862 by Rudolf Clausius as an increase in the disgregation of the molecules of the body of ice. ... For other uses, see Alchemy (disambiguation). ... Transmutation circles could be as simple as merely a square inscribed within a circle or as complex as this human transmutation circle. ... An equation is a mathematical statement, in symbols, that two things are the same (or equivalent). ... The Gate of Alchemy in the episode Untainted Child. ...

Modern chemistry

Much of today's modern chemistry does evolve from the study of alchemy. As a result, when alchemical processes are explained in the anime (such as Roy Mustang's ability to conjure up flames on his finger tips), they are explained through modern chemistry and chemical terminology. This results in a hybrid system that integrates alchemy and chemistry very tightly. Chemistry is used to explain the process and result of the transmutation while alchemy is used to perform the transmutation. Left unexplained by chemistry is the nature of the alchemic power that allows the reactions to take place. For other uses, see Chemistry (disambiguation). ... Colonel Roy Mustang is a character from the Fullmetal Alchemist anime and manga series. ... A reaction is the following: In physics, a reaction (physics) is defined by Newtons third law: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. The idea that any given force has a pair or opposite force. ...

A more specific example of the "Law of Equivalent Exchange" being "followed" is the equilibrium process. For example, in a reaction between Magnesium and Oxygen, the synthesis between the two elements create Magnesium Oxide. As the synthesis reaction occurs until it reaches its peak, decomposition then takes place. Synthesis and decomposition occur at different rates for some time before reaching equilibrium. That is, both processes are occurring at the exact same rate. So in keeping within the "Equivalent Exchange" law, no energy was lost or gained.