purified gold
Persia
11th Century
Source: Sezgin, Fuat. Science and Technology in Islam, Vol. V. Frankfurt am Main: Institut für Geschichte der Arabisch–Islamischen Wissenschaften, 2010.
Recipe Details
Ingredients
gold
Preparation Steps
Al-Bīrūnī purified gold five times in fire until it reached a state where it became difficult to melt further and solidified rapidly. This process was intended to produce the purest possible metal for the determination of specific gravity (p. 15).
Original Recipe Text
Al-Bīrūnī purified gold five times in fire until it reached a state where it became difficult to melt further and solidified rapidly. This process was intended to produce the purest possible metal for the determination of specific gravity (p. 15).
Evidence
"Thus he purified gold five times in fire until it became difficult to melt any further and solidified quickly."
Remarks
Al-Bīrūnī performed all weighings at the same location and during the same season to maintain consistency and avoid errors. He applied similar rigorous purification to silver, copper, iron, and tin (p. 15).
Scientific Analysis
Chemical CompositionAu
Certainty Level
Confirmed
Instrumentally Verified
Not Verified
Metadata
Material Type
pigment
ColorGold
RegionPersia
Approx. Year1050
Source Information
AuthorSezgin, Fuat. Science and Technology in Islam, Vol. V. Frankfurt am Main: Institut für Geschichte der Arabisch–Islamischen Wissenschaften, 2010.
CollectionAl-Biruni's experimental metals
Language
N/A
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