In a complete distillation setup, this lower vessel would have held the material to be heated. A dome-shaped head, or helm, would be placed over the narrow neck. As the contents were heated, the ...

Within a 20-minute walk from Notre Dame Cathedral, in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, is the oldest house in the city: the house of Nicolas Flamel. If the name rings a vague bell, perhaps it’s ...

To the naked eye, the pendant once looked like solid gold, but anthropologist David Peterson of Idaho State University knows its secret. Using a powerful scanning electron microscope at the Center for ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Nadja Sayej writes about fashion, celebrity and pop culture. On view until June 15, it features 13 abstract paintings and one ...

Can alchemy be described as a protoscience? Do ancient texts with obscure formulas and procedures describe mystic rituals and allegoric visions? Or do they record instructions to carry out real ...