Connected by a tube to another vessel, it allows vapors from the heated substance to pass through the tube, condense along it, and drip into the other container. Some would say that Jabir’s most important achievement, however, was the alembic still.Īn alembic is a liquid-filled container placed over a heat source. Later, after the name “Jabir” was Latinized as “Geber,” despairing European alchemists trying to decipher his work came up with the word “gibberish.” (Many of them were looking to discover the secret of making gold.) Adding to the confusion, many of Jabir’s attributed works were written in obscure, stilted language. Known as “the father of chemistry” and “the father of alchemy,” he became so well known that historians believe many people wrote under his name on a range of subjects. He was especially ahead of his time for his research on acids and alkalis, the latter being another word he coined. Many of Jabir’s methods and classifications are still in use today. But the Abbasids soon triumphed, and Jabir served as court alchemist to the caliph, Harun Al-Rashid. He got his start early, as the son of a “pharmaceutical chemist.” His father was put to death for supporting the Abbasid family’s rise to power. It was a tumultuous time, and Jabir’s fortunes rose and fell with the rule of the Abbasid dynasty. But the roots of modern distillation technology began with the semi-mythical Persian alchemist Abu Musa Jabir ibn Hayyan.īorn around 721 AD in modern-day Iran, he lived mainly in Kufa, in modern-day Iraq. And the basic principles of distillation were known by ancient Greek and Egyptian scholars, including Aristotle. ![]() That influence on the distillation of liquor is so strong that it lingers in the English language, in the Arabic word “alcohol.”īefore the Islamic Golden Age, people worldwide used crude methods of distillation, such as leaving booze out in the cold and drinking what wouldn’t freeze. In the sweep of human history, the distillation of hard liquors-from brandy to ouzo to soju-has been a surprisingly recent development: Scholars have pinpointed the invention of advanced distilling technology to the height of the Islamic Golden Age, which started in the 8th century. ![]() Booze made with foraged honey predated agriculture, and breweries and wineries have been with us since 4000 B.C.īut all these ancient-yet-familiar beverages are fairly low proof. Chemical Heritage Foundation/Public Domain An advertisement lauding Jabir ibn Hayyan, or Geber.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |