The Alchemist, Metal-Divider and Transmuter Carl F. Wenzel and his 1776 Award from the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences through Professor C. G. Kratzenstein

Abstract

C. F. Wenzel was a chemist and an alchemist. He had deep knowledge of acids, bases and salts, and he was credited with the first formulation of the Law of Mass Action. Yet he was also an alchemist, who on the eve of the Chemical Revolution published his beliefs in transmutation and in the division of metals into their constituents, for which he was rewarded with the gold medal of the Royal Danish Academy of the Sciences. His promoter, Professor C. G. Kratzenstein, was himself a believer in transmutation, even if he voiced some reservations.

Keywords: alchemy; law of mass action; metals; minerals; transmutation.