Many chemistry textbooks open with a brief description of alchemy, the pseudo-science that preceded and contributed to the development of modern chemistry. A major goal of alchemy was to find a method for transmuting elements, that is, changing one element into another. The origin of the term alchemy is uncertain. The prefix al- is the definite article in Arabic meaning "the," while -chem may come from early French, German, Greek, Arabic, or Egyptian terms that refer to the study of materials or the alloying of metals.

Some forms of alchemy probably existed in most ancient civilizations including the Indian, Chinese, Egyptian, and Arabic. It may have reached Western Europe from the Arab world, by way of North Africa and Spain, in the twelfth century. Wherever it occurred, alchemy reflected a common philosophical view, namely that perfectibility was possible in all things, living and non-living...