The Conversation: Deciphering the Philosophers’ Stone

Institute fellows Megan Piorko and Sarah Lang help crack a 400-year-old alchemical cipher.

October 14, 2021

The work of Science History Institute fellows Megan Piorko and Sarah Lang is featured in an article in The Conversation, a nonprofit news network that publishes stories written by academic experts and researchers. The article talks about how Piorko (a second-year Allington Postdoctoral Fellow) and Lang (a short-term Herdegen Fellow) contributed to the decryption of a 400-year-old cipher written by alchemists John Dee and his son, Arthur Dee. As suspected, the ciphertext contained an alchemical recipe for the fabled philosophers’ stone, an elixir that is supposed to prolong the owner’s life and grant the ability to produce gold from base metals.

Read more on theconversation.com >>

Alchemical emblem in Sloane MS 1876 f1v. © British Library Board, Author provided (no reuse).

More News

illustration of a man giving a lecture
news

Institute Launches New Science and Society Speaker Series

Nobel laureate Roald Hoffmann kicks off this engaging program with a talk on November 16, followed by an expert panel discussion on plastics on December 6.

Carolyn Bertozzi in 2022
news

Nobel Laureate Carolyn Bertozzi to Present Science History Institute’s 2023 Ullyot Lecture

Q&A session, award presentation, and reception to follow Stanford professor’s ‘Sweet Revenge on Cancer’ talk being held October 17.

students gathered at a conference
news

Grace3 Technologies, National Black Empowerment Council Present 3rd Annual Xtreme5 Teen Tech Summit at Science History Institute

Drones, robotics, and Google’s Be Internet Awesome online safety program top list of tools and technologies experienced by more than 200 Philadelphia students at STEM event.

    Republish

    Copy the above HTML to republish this content. We have formatted the material to follow our guidelines, which include our credit requirements. Please review our full list of guidelines for more information. By republishing this content, you agree to our republication requirements.