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Mrs Talen's Frankenstein Webquest

Scientific Background of // Frankenstein //

 * Identify and describe Luigi Galvani and his discoveries that are relevant to the novel.
 * Identify two examples of attempts to “raise the dead” from Shelley’s life and connect them to the novel.
 * Identify and define the following terms and people: Cornelius Agrippa, Paracelsus, Albertus Magnus, Philosopher’s Stone, Elixir of Life, and alchemy. ** Focus on how they relate to creating life; don’t worry about the intricate details of the people’s lives. **

__Question 1:__ Identify and describe Luigi Galvani and his discoveries thar are relevant to the novel. **


 * Luigi Galvani ** [[image:http://www.nndb.com/people/742/000091469/luigi-galvani-2-sized.jpg width="238" height="331" align="right" caption="Luigi Galvani"]]
 * Born:** [|9-Sep]-[|1737]
 * Birthplace:** [|Bologna, Italy]
 * Died:** [|4-Dec]-[|1798]
 * Location of death:** [|Bologna, Italy]
 * Cause of death:** unspecified
 * Remains:** Buried, Corpus Domini, Bologna, Italy
 * Gender:** Male
 * Religion:** [|Roman Catholic]
 * Race or Ethnicity:** White
 * Sexual orientation:** Straight
 * Occupation:** [|Doctor]
 * Nationality:** Italy
 * Executive summary:** Explored bioelectical phenomena

During the 1790s, Italian physician Luigi Galvani demonstrated what we now understand to be the electrical basis of nerve impulses when he made frog muscles twitch by jolting them with a spark from an electrostatic machine.


 * Luigi Galvani was born in Bologna, Papal States (Italy).
 * He studied medicine at the University of Bologna and after graduation was appointed lecturer in anatomy at the University of Bologna and professor of obstetrics at the Institute of Arts and Sciences.
 * His early research began with his doctoral thesis in comparative anatomy with a tendency toward physiology.

> He also believed the brain secreted an "electric fluid" and that the flow of this fluid through the nerves provided a stimulus for the muscle fibers. > Scientific colleagues generally accepted Galvani’s views; but [|Alessandro Volta], a professor of physics, was not convinced.
 * Following the acquisition of an electrostatic machine (a device for making sparks) and a Leyden jar (a device used to store static electricity), Luigi Galvani began experimenting with muscular stimulation by electrical means. Through numerous observations and experiments Luigi Galvani caused muscular contraction in a frog by touching its nerves with electrostatically charged metal. Later, he was able to cause muscular contraction by touching the nerve with different metals without a source of electrostatic charge. He concluded that animal tissue contained an innate vital force, which he termed "animal electricity." He believed this to be a new form of electricity in addition to the "natural" form that produced lightning and to the "artificial" form that is produced by friction (i.e., static electricity).


 * Volta demonstrated that the electricity did not come from the animal tissue but was generated by the contact of different metals, brass and iron, in a moist environment.


 * However, in another experiment, Galvani caused muscular contraction by touching the exposed muscle of one frog with the nerve of another and thus established for the first time that bioelectric forces exist within living tissue.


 * Galvani’s discoveries opened the way to new research in the physiology of muscle and nerve and pioneered the subject of electrophysiology -- the study of the connection between living organisms and electricity.

The Elixir of Life... Many of these substances, far from contributing to longevity, were actively toxic. Jiajing Emperor in the Ming Dynasty died from ingesting a lethal dosage of element)|mercury in the supposed "Elixir of Life" conjured by alchemists. The oldest Indian writings, the Vedas (Hindu sacred scriptures), contain the same hints of alchemy that are found in evidence from ancient China, namely vague references to a connection between gold and long life. Mercury, which was so vital to alchemy everywhere, is first mentioned in the 4th to 3rd century BC Arthashastra, about the same time it is encountered in China and in the West.Since Alexander the Great had invaded India in 325 BC, leaving a Greek state (Gandhara) that long endured, the possibility exists that the Indians acquired the idea from the Greeks, but it could have been the other way around.It is also possible that the alchemy of medicine and immortality came to India from China, or vice versa; in any case, gold making appears to have been a minor concern, and medicine the major concern, of both cultures. But the elixir of immortality was of little importance in India (which had other avenues to immortality). 2 cups of cornflakes 3/4 cup of honey 100g of butter 75g of choc chips 1 cup of coconut 1/2 cup of oats 1/2 cup of chopped nuts (doesn't matter what kind) three tears of pain three tears of happiness three tears of love three tears of melancholy mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl, melt butter and honey together, mix thoroughly through dry ingredients and spoon heaps into a greased muffin tin and sprinkle with tears. set in fridge. =)
 * also known as the **elixir of immortality** and sometimes equated with the philosopher's stone, is a legendary potion, or drink, that grants the drinker eternal life or eternal youth. Many practitioners of alchemy pursued it. The elixir of life was also said to be able to create life. It is related to the myths of Enoch, Thoth, and Hermes Trismegistus, all of whom in various tales are said to have drunk "the white drops" (liquid gold) and thus achieved immortality. It is also associated with the Qur'an's Al Khidr('The Green Man'), and is mentioned in one of the Nag Hammadi texts.
 * The most famous Chinese alchemical book, the Tan Chin Yao Ch’eh ("Great Secrets of Alchemy," dating from approximately 650 AD), discusses in detail the creation of elixirs for immortality (mercury, sulfur, and the salts of mercury and arsenic are prominent) as well as those for curing certain diseases and the fabrication of precious stones.
 * Amrita (or the elixir of life) has been described in the Hindu scriptures.
 * The Comte de St. Germain, an 18th century nobleman of uncertain origin and mysterious capabilities, was also reputed to have the Elixir and to be several thousand years old. Many European recipes specify that //elixir// is to be stored in clocks to amplify the effects of immortality on the user.
 * Elixir of life:

The Philosopher's Stone
 * The philosopher's stone is a legendary substance, allegedly capable of turning inexpensive metals into gold. It was sometimes believed to be an elixir of life, useful for rejuvenation and possibly for achieving immortality. For a long time, it was the most sought-after goal in Western alchemy. In the view of spiritual alchemy, making the philosopher's stone would bring enlightenment upon the maker and conclude the Great Work. It is also known by several other names, such as 'materia prima.'
 * [] help with how much to put in from here?

Alchemy... Alchemy has been practiced in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), India (modern Indian subcontinent), Persia (modern Iran), China, Japan, Korea, the classical Greco-Roman world, the medieval Islamic world, and then medieval Europe up to the 20th century, in a complex network of schools and philosophical systems spanning at least 2,500 years.
 * **Alchemy**, derived from the Arabic word //al-kimia// (الكيمياء), is both a philosophy and an ancient practice focused on the attempt to change base metals into gold, investigating the preparation of the "elixir of longevity", and achieving ultimate wisdom, involving the improvement of the alchemist as well as the making of several substances described as possessing unusual properties.[1] The practical aspect of alchemy generated the basics of modern inorganic chemistry, namely concerning procedures, equipment and the identification and use of many current substances.

Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim was born in 1486 near Cologne. He studied medicine and law there, and in 1506 he set up a secret society for magic, science and Kabbalah (a religion) in Paris. In 1509 he set up a laboratory for alchemy in Dole (France). He then travelled around, making a living from alchemy and meeting famous peoples. He went to Metz in 1418, and became a legal advisor to the city council. This was at a time when Germany was being swept by the religious reforms of Martin Luther. In 1520 he became a medical person in Geneva (where some of Frankenstein is set). Four years later he became the king’s mother’s physician, at King Francis I’s court, until he criticised her, that is. In 1930 he published “De Incertitudine & Vanitate Scientiarum & Artium”, (of the uncertainty and vanity of the sciences). His work “De Occulta Philosophiae” (three books of the defence of hidden philosophy) was published 1531. A year later, “De Noblilitate et Praecelentia Foemini Sexus", (the nobility of the female sex and the superiority of women over men). He later became a historiographer (secretary) at King Charles V’s court (I think this was the Charles that was the Holy Roman Emperor). He died in 1535. In 1812, Percy Bysshe Shelley said that Agrippa and Paracelsus were some of his favourite writers. He wrote mainly about magic and studied some alchemy. The Shelley’s read his work, and had been to Geneva, where he had once practised medicine. He believed that humans could be grown from Mandrake roots. He also said that "death is fatall to all". Imagine that!
 * Cornelius Agrippa **

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Auroleus Phillipus Theostratus Bombastus von Hohenheim was born in 1493. He studied under Abbot Trithermius, as did Agrippa. When he was sixteen, he went to the University at Basle and studied alchemy, medicine and surgery. He then went around most of Europe, becoming a doctor at Einsiedeln in Switzerland. He named the element zinc “Zink” (German for pointed, as it was used in pointed tools for doctory thingies) in 1526, and used bits like arsenic and mercury in his medicines. I though that both were poisonous, but he doesn’t appear to have a reputation for killing heaps of patients. He then became a prisoner of the Tartars at Russia and becoming a favourite of the Grand Cham at court. He then went with the Grand Cham’s son to Constantinople. He later became an army surgeon in Italy, and then went back to Germany in 1586. He became a professor at the University at Basle, but was chucked out due to his opposition of several popular sciency peoples and systems. He wandered around Europe, stopping at Salzburg, Austria (I’ve heard of this place before, but can’t remember where from), as Prince Palatine, Duke Ernst of Bavaria invited him to come. The Prince loved alchemy very much. Paracelsus died in 1541. I can’t really see how he was related to Frankenstein, unless he was eight foot tall and killed people on a regular basis.
 * Paracelsus **

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He was a German (hence the name) and was born between 1193 and 1206. He joined the Dominican order in 1223. He went to the University of Padua, and then went around lecturing people (primarily on religious matters). He went to Paris, where he set about trying to write a book about everything in his time (science, rhetoric, politics, mathematics, etc). He was one of those scientists that was also religious and believed the two worked together. In 1248, he went set up the first Dominican “studium generale” (general study house) in Cologne, Germany. In 1254, he became “ provincial of the German province of the D ominicans” for three years. I have no idea what this means. In 1259, the Pope at the time (Alexander IV) told him he would succeed the bishop of Regensburg, but squirmed out of it two years later when the Pope died. Then he strolled around and preached a lot, before returning yet again to Cologne. He died in 1280. He was known as “Great”, as in Albertus Magnus the Great.
 * Albertus Magnus **

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