Secret Lairs Research The secret lair of the Martian Alchemist Alchemist/Alchemy What is alchemy? Alchemist definition on www.dictionary.

com 1. A person who is versed in or practices alchemy Alchemy definition 1. A form of chemistry and speculative philosophy practiced in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and concerned principally with discovering methods for transmuting baser metals into gold and with finding a universal solvent and an elixir of life. 2. Any magical power or process of transmuting a common substance, usually of little value, into a substance of great value. Brief History Alchemy originated in Ancient Egypt as the Egyptians used mummification because they believed in life after death which therefore led to a basic knowledge of chemistry and eventually the search for a potion that grants immortality. Within the River Nile in Egypt there is a fertile black soil that was called Khem. The Greeks became very interested in the Egyptian chemistry after Egypt was conquered by Alexander the Great. Combining this science knowledge with the four elements Fire, Earth, Air and Water they then created Khemia which was the Greek word for Egypt. In the 7th Century Arabs occupied Egypt and added the word al to khemia making al-khemia meaning the Black Land which is thought to be how the word alchemy originated in the first place. However there have been other theories suggesting that the Greek word khumos which means fluid was actually the origin of the word. There is no confirmation for which one is correct as yet. As well as Egypt and Greece Alchemy was also developed in China by Taoist monks independently. Through alchemy the monks pursued the two parts of the Elixir of life; the outer elixir and the inner elixir. Using plants and minerals as the former and the latter being chi or life force of the body that has been manipulated using exercise techniques. Another country that developed alchemy independently much like Egypt and China was India. Similar to China, India had the beliefs to use external and internal methods to prolong life and purify the body. Through their work the Indians came across a very importance discovery to the future of alchemy which was the identification of different metals through the colour of flames. They also invented the widely used metal, steel. Alchemy reached the west after the introduction to Spain by the Arabs in the 8th Century which then quickly spread towards the rest of Europe. The Arabs believed that metals consisted of sulphur and mercury and gold was thought to be the most ideal metal while the others were not so perfect. It then became a common aim in alchemy to transmute these poorer metals into gold using a substance called the Philosophers Stone which is also believed to be the key to immortality. The Chinese referred to it as the Pill of Immortality.

The European alchemists went on to discover many other chemical processes and by the 16th Century they had separated into two groups each focusing on a different aspect of alchemy. The first group continued to study and discover new compounds and work on their reactions which lead to what is known as now as science chemistry. The second group of alchemists carried on trying to obtain gold from base metals and the search for immortality which was more of the metaphysical and spiritual side of alchemy. This is now the modern day idea of alchemy.

Processes used in Alchemy 1. Calcination The strong heating of a substance in order to break it down 2. Reverberation High temperature calcination, using a reverberating furnace 3. Vitriolification The making of a vitriol, often through use of oil of vitriol 4. Dissolution Dissolving a substance in, or transforming it into a liquid 5. Ablution Washing with liquid in order to purify a substance 6. Elixeration Conversion of a substance into an elixir 7. Putrefaction Rotting under heat and with moisture 8. Elaboration Separating the pure from the impure 9. Assation Reduction to ash by roasting

Symbols in Alchemy In alchemy there are many symbols that were used to show elements and metals in a symbolic way for the alchemists to understand.

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The Magnum Opus The Magnum Opus is Latin for the great work and is the alchemical term for the stages of creation of the Philosophers Stone. The shield of the Magnum Opus consists of the colours Red, Yellow, Black and White. Also known as: Nigredo blackening Albedo Whitening Citrinitas Yellowing Rubedo Reddening

Martian Martain definition on www.dictionary.com 1. Something relating to the planet mars 2. An inhabitant of Mars Martians in real life and fiction Any real life-forms on Mars are likely to be very tiny and primitive, such as microbes in the soil. In reality there are no actual discovered complex beings living on Mars. In Science Fiction stories and films, it has been commonly depicted that Martians are humanoid in shape i.e. one head, two arms, two legs and walk upright. Colours vary mainly from green and orange to red and brown. In the film Mars Attacks! Directed by Tim Burton, 1996, the Martian invaders were again humanoid, and with ugly, large heads implying huge brains.

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Mars Mars definition on www.dictionary.com 1. Astronomy. the planet fourth in order from the sun, having a diameter of 4222 miles (6794 km), a mean distance from the sun of 141.6 million miles (227.9 million km), a period of revolution of 686.95 days, and two moons. Mars is the Red Planet; the soil is red and rocky. The very cold temperatures on the planet range from -125oC to 23oC, it also has polar ice caps which grow and reduce with the rapid temperature changes. It is so cold on the planet Mars that not even water can exist for very long because the atmosphere is so thin coursing it to freeze. Moving vertical tectonic plates within the ground push up and allow hot lava to get to the hard rocky surface. Although it is really cold on Mars, it still has volcanoes and valleys, including the biggest volcanic mountain known of in the solar system to this day, Olympus Mons. The great volcano rises 15.5 miles (25km) which is higher than three Mount Everests and stretches over almost 340 miles (550 km). It features a gigantic rift valley as well, known as, the Valles Marineris which is many times bigger than the world famous Grand Canyon in Arizona.

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Mars has huge dust storms that sometimes cover the entire planet, leaving behind giant dunes, wind streaks and rocks carved by the effects of many such storms. As well as these frequent storms coursing formations in the surface, Mars has also been struck by meteors leaving huge craters behind, including Hellas Planitia, which is 6km deep and 2000km across. As well as giant craters there are also rock formations and perhaps the most famous one in the rock formation that looks like a face and so got its simple name, The face on Mars.

Figure 8 Although the exterior of Mars is cold with freezing temperatures, dust storms and huge craters from meteor strikes, internally, Mars is thought to have a dense core, them a molten rocky mantle, with a thin crust at the surface. Mars also has two moons, or satellites, called Phobos and Deimos. Asteroid Fields There are four main sets of asteroids; the main belt, Trojans, scattered disc and the Kuiper belt. The most commonly known one is the Main Belt, it is a large collection of objects that is located inbetween Mars and Jupiter. Ceres is the largest known asteroid in the belt and is the only one classified as a dwarf planet. It accounts for over 25% of the belts total mass. Trojan is an adjective that is a satellite that shares an orbit with a larger planet or moon, however because it orbits around one of the two Lagrangian points of stability, it does not collide with the planet/moon. The Trojan asteroids orbit around Jupiters Lagrangian points. Also objects from the field have been found orbiting Lagrangian points of Neptune and Mars. Within the Kuiper belt there are thousands of icy bodies including its only designated dwarf planet, the former planet Pluto. Although it is the only one actually designated as a dwarf planet at the moment, it is subject to change due to the fact that there are at least two bodies discovered that are bigger than Pluto. The scattered disc is considered by astronomers to be the place of origin for most periodic comets as it has an unstable nature. It is a subset asteroid field of the Kuiper belt, making them both the coldest objects in the solar system as they are the furthest away from the Sun.

Illustrations Figure 1: http://alchemicaldiagrams.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/alchemy-symbols.html Figure 2: http://alchemicaldiagrams.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/alchemy-symbols.html Figure 3: http://alchemicaldiagrams.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/alchemy-symbols.html Figure 4: http://alchemicaldiagrams.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/alchemy-symbols.html Figure 5: http://www.leenwallpapers.com/movie/MarsAttacks.html Figure 6: http://www.olympusmons.com/mars/photo02.html Figure 7: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valles_Marineris Figure 8: http://www.aliens-everything-you-want-to-know.com/TheFaceOnMars.html

Bibliography http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/webprojects2002/crabb/history.html http://nineplanets.org/mars.html http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/04/120413-nasa-viking-program-mars-life-spacescience/ http://www.olympusmons.com/ http://www.universetoday.com/33317/asteroid-field/