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Encyclopedia > Quintessence (alchemy)

In alchemy, among the classical elements, quintessence (meaning "fifth element", along with earth, air, fire, and water) was another term for aether; it is the substance of which the heavenly bodies were supposed to be composed. The Alchemist. ... Several ancient Classical Element ideas exist. ... Earth is one of the four classical elements in ancient Greek philosophy and science. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Fire is one of the four classical elements in ancient Greek philosophy and science. ... Water is one of the four classical elements in ancient Greek philosophy and science. ... The aether (also spelled ether) is a substance concept, historically, used in science and philosophy. ...


More loosely, quintessence is the purest form of a particular substance. This is seen in the Hamlet soliloquy: "The beauty of the world, the paragon of animals and yet to me what is this quintessence of dust?" The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is a tragedy by William Shakespeare and one of his most well-known and oft-quoted plays. ...



Classical Elements

Western
Air
Fire | Aether | Water
Earth
See also: Quintessence Several ancient Classical Element ideas exist. ... Several ancient Classical Element ideas exist. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Fire is one of the four classical elements in ancient Greek philosophy and science. ... The aether (also spelled ether) is a substance concept, historically, used in science and philosophy. ... Water is one of the four classical elements in ancient Greek philosophy and science. ... Earth is one of the four classical elements in ancient Greek philosophy and science. ...


Chinese
Wood (木) | Fire (火) | Earth (土) | Metal (金) | Water (水) In traditional Chinese thought, natural phenomena can be classified into five elements, or phases: metal, wood, earth, water, fire (Chinese: 金 木 土 水 火). ... In Chinese alchemy, wood was one of the five elements. ... Fire is one of the four classical elements in ancient Greek philosophy and science. ... Earth is one of the four classical elements in ancient Greek philosophy and science. ... In Chinese alchemy, Metal is one of the Five Elements. ... Water is one of the four classical elements in ancient Greek philosophy and science. ...


  Results from FactBites:
 
Alchemy article - Alchemy protoscientific chemistry physics semiotics metallurgy medicine - What-Means.com (4551 words)
Alchemy can be regarded as the precursor of the modern science of chemistry prior to the formulation of the scientific method.
Chinese alchemy was closely connected to Taoist forms of medicine, such as Acupuncture and Moxibustion, and to martial arts such as Tai Chi Chuan and Kung Fu (although some Tai Chi schools believe that their art derives from the Hygienic or Philosophical branches of Taoism, not the Alchemical).
Alchemy was kept alive by men such as Nicolas Flamel, who was noteworthy only because he was one of the few alchemists writing in those troubled times.
Quintessence - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (212 words)
In physics, quintessence is a hypothetical form of energy postulated to exist as a possible explanation of observations of an accelerating universe.
In alchemy, quintessence, meaning "fifth element", was another term for aether; it is the substance of which the heavenly bodies were supposed to be composed.
Quintessence and the corresponding adjective quintessential are also used in the figurative sense of "(a thing) that is the perfect example of its kind".
  More results at FactBites »


 

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