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Vitriol is the name that alchemists gave to sulfuric acid. The name was also used for various sulfate salts, such as copper(II) sulfate (blue vitriol, or rarely Roman vitriol), zinc sulfate (white vitriol), iron(II) sulfate (green vitriol), iron(III) sulfate (vitriol of Mars), or cobalt(II) sulfate (red vitriol). Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Sulfuric acid (British English: sulphuric acid), H2SO4, is a strong mineral acid. ... Alchemy is an early protoscientific practice combining elements of chemistry, physics, astrology, art, semiotics, metallurgy, medicine,and mysticism. ... Sulfuric acid (British English: sulphuric acid), H2SO4, is a strong mineral acid. ... Sulfate is the IUPAC name for the SO42- ion, consisting of a central sulfur atom single bonded to four tetrahedrally oriented oxygen atoms. ... In chemistry, salt is a term used for ionic compounds composed of positively charged cations and negatively charged anions, so that the product is neutral and without a net charge. ... Copper(II) sulfate or copper(II) sulphate (CuSO4) is the most common copper salt, made by the action of sulfuric acid on the base copper(II) oxide. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Democratici di Sinistra) Area  - City Proper  1290 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,546,807 almost 4,000,000 1... Zinc sulfate (ZnSO4) is a clear, crystalline, water soluble chemical compound. ... Iron(II) sulfate, also known as ferrous sulfate and as copperas (FeSO4) is an example of an ionic compound. ...

Oil of vitriol is concentrated sulfuric acid so named due to its oily appearance.

Extraction

In antiquity, the vitriol salts were extracted from the runoff that collected inside mines of sulfide ores; the sulfates were formed naturally by the action of air on the wet sulfide minerals, and washed down by percolating water. The El Chino Mine located near Silver City, New Mexico is an open-pit copper mine Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually (but not always) from an ore body, vein, or (coal) seam. ... In chemistry, a sulfide (sulphide in British and Canadian English) is a chemical compound or combination of sulfur with an oxidation number of -2, with another chemical element or a radical thereof. ...

Uses

Vitriol was the most important alchemical substance, intended to be used as a philosopher's stone. Highly purified vitriol was used as a medium to react substances in. This was largely because the acid does not react with gold, often the final aim of alchemical processes. The word Vitriol is formed from the initial letters of the alchemical motto VISITA� INTERIORA� TERRA� RECTIFICANDO� INVENIES� OCCULTUM� LAPIDEM (Visit the interior of the earth and rectifying (i.e. purifying) you will find the hidden/secret stone -- the reference is evidently to the legendary philosopher's stone). The philosophers stone, a longtime holy grail of Western alchemy, is a mythical substance that supposedly could turn inexpensive metals into gold and/or create an elixir that would make humans immortal. ... General Name, Symbol, Number gold, Au, 79 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 6, d Appearance metallic yellow Atomic mass 196. ...

Manufacture of sulfuric acid

The famous Persian alchemist al-Razi (864-930) discovered sulfuric acid by the dry distillation of vitriol salts, thus setting in motion a chain of discoveries that would form the foundation of modern chemistry and chemical engineering. (Nowadays the reverse process is generally used, namely the metal sulfates are made by reacting oxide or other metal compound with the acid, which is obtained by other means). ... Rhazes-Treating a Patient (artist unknown) Abu Bakr Mohammad Ibn Zakariya al-Razi (born in Rayy, Iran, 864; died in Baghdad, Iraq, 930 AD) was a versatile Persian philosopher (hakim), who made fundamental and lasting contributions to the fields of medicine, chemistry (alchemy) and philosophy. ... Sulfuric acid (British English: sulphuric acid), H2SO4, is a strong mineral acid. ... Dry distillation is the heating of solid materials to produce liquid or gaseous products (which may condense into solids). ... Chemistry (in Greek: χημεία) is the science of matter that deals with the composition, structure, and properties of substances and with the transformations that they undergo. ... Chemical engineering is the application of science, mathematics and economics to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms. ...

Agriculture

Blue (copper) and, to a lesser extent, white (zinc) vitriol are still occasionally used as chemical defensives in agriculture. In typical applications, a solution of the vitriol is mixed with lime (calcium hydroxide) to produce a fine copper hydroxide suspension, which is sprayed on the plant. Lime has several meanings: Look up Lime in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Lime (mineral) - a group of calcium compounds and minerals in which they predominate, including: Limestone Agricultural lime - a mineral soil additive Calcium oxide (also quicklime) - a chemical compound Calcium hydroxide (also slaked lime) - a chemical compound Lime (fruit...

Iron-gall ink

Green (iron(II)) vitriol was much used in the middle ages to make writing iron-gall nut ink. Iron-gall nut ink was the standard writing and drawing ink for Europe, from about the 12th century to the 19th century, and remained in use well into the 20th century. ...

See also

• Abu Musa Jabir Ibn Hayyan
• Sulfur
• Sulfuric acid

15th century European portrait of Geber, Codici Ashburnhamiani 1166, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Florence Jabir Ibn Hayyan , full name Abu Musa Jabir Ibn Hayyan Al-Azdi (أبو موسى جابر بن حيان الأزدي), born c. ... General Name, Symbol, Number sulfur, S, 16 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 16, 3, p Appearance lemon yellow Atomic mass 32. ... Sulfuric acid (British English: sulphuric acid), H2SO4, is a strong mineral acid. ...

External links

• Triad Publishing's Article