The question of what the world is made of has fascinated people since time immemorial. The fact that solids could become liquid and liquids become gas inspired the early alchemists to apply such an art of transformation themselves. Mostly in search of the “philosopher’s stone” that would transform base metals into gold. Even if all the attempts came to nothing, many wrong approaches yielded important insights. For example, in 1669, Hennig Brand tried to extract the philosopher’s stone from urine and discovered phosphorus.
In episode 1 of the series, Mai-Thi Nguyen-Kim explains the basics of a fascinating science that many people are skeptical about.
WRITER & DIRECTOR: Luise Wagner CAMERA & EDITOR: Jonas Sichert SOUND: Simone Hartmann COSTUME DESIGNER: Jutta Krämer MUSIC: Jens Hafemann COMMISSIONING EDITOR: Friederike Haedecke (ZDF), Judith Beyermann (ZDF), Peter Arens (ZDF)
