The Tree of Life

Aug 4, 2025 · 13 min · Season 1 · Episode 9 · 20.0 MB

0:00-13:53

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In this episode of Making Science, Tom Whipple tells the story of physician and alchemist Johannes Baptist van Helmont. In the 17th-century Van Helmont believed he had created the Philosopher's Stone, a substance that could turn base metals into gold. Whilst this might have been a pipe dream his work indirectly paved the way for a monumental scientific discovery - photosynthesis.

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