Secrets of the alchemists

In 1666, renowned English mathematician, astronomer and natural philosopher, Sir Isaac Newton, observed light entering a prism, and from this experience he made a brilliant discovery about light and colour; that white light is made up of a spectrum of several colours. He was fascinated with light, and believed that it had a close relationship to the concept that the early modern scientist knew as ‘the vegetable spirit’, which was an idea that Newton coined.

Newton was constantly awed by the beauty and complexity of nature. Over time, he concluded that the massive variety of life and processes that occur in nature, such as growth and decay, meant there must be some driving force making it all happen. He believed that the ‘vegetable spirit’ was that force, and he thought it might be linked with the power of light.

To those only familiar with Newton’s discoveries in mathematics and physics, the idea of the ‘vegetable spirit’ might seem strange, and even pseudoscientific. On the other hand, this idea and several others of the famous scientist were closely associated with a subject that he is