ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY

Modern chemistry has its early beginnings in ancient Greece and Egypt. The Greeks were great philosophers and thinkers and debated the ultimate nature of the material world that surrounded them. On the other hand, the Egyptians were skilled in the practical arts of applied chemistry. They had an intimate knowledge of such matters as embalming of the dead, dyeing of clothing, and the isolation of some metals. In fact, the word alchemy is derived from the Arab word al-kimiya. This phrase was used to describe the art of transformation of materials and the practical use of chemicals in society. However, the lack of understanding of chemical processes led to alchemy being more of an art than a science. The art of alchemy was closely related to religion and involved the use of a set of hieroglyphics to represent the different metals. For example, gold was depicted as the sun, silver as the moon, copper as Venus, and so on. The occurrence of chemical changes was interpreted in a mysterious fashion and took on a mythological significance. The major area of concern of alchemy was not the development of a science, but the transmutation of metals.