To merely say that Isaac Newton was a good scientist and brilliant thinker would be a bit like saying that Rachmaninov’s manipulation of the pianoforte was merely pleasing. Newton’s legacy in the annals of science is the mark of a genius, and there are literally hundreds of his manuscripts that have not yet fully been interpreted, described, or annotated. With support from the National Science Foundation, Indiana University’s Digital Library program has produced this fine website which will eventually contain a complete scholarly online edition of Newton’s alchemical manuscripts, along with new research on Newton’s ‘chymistry’. This ‘chymistry’ was the term used in 17th century England to describe the science of alchemy. So far, approximately 250 pages of these laboratory notebooks are available online, with another 1500 scheduled for digitization in the future. The site contains a number of reference tools, such as a symbol guide, and an introductory essay.
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