Alchemical symbols. 18th-century listing of characters and symbols used by alchemists to represent chemicals,elements,and other objects and processes. The alphabetical listing is in French and includes astrological symbols. Examples here include classical elements such as fire (feu),and elements such as iron (fer,symbol for Mars),mercury (mecure),and gold (or). Also listed are brass (laiton),oil (huile),perle (pearl),light (lampe),and the philosopher's stone (oeuf philosophique). Processes include filtration (filtrer). These symbols were replaced by modern chemical nomenclature,developed from the end of the 18th century onwards |