Amalgam (chemistry) Amalgam (chemistry) An amalgam is an alloy of mercury with another metal, which may be a liquid, a soft paste or a solid, depending upon the proportion of mercury. These alloys are formed through metallic bonding, with the electrostatic attractive force of the conduction electrons working to bind all the positively charged metal ions together into a crystal lattice structure. Almost all metals can form amalgams with mercury, the notable exceptions being iron, platinum, tungsten, and tantalum. Silver-mercury amalgams are important in dentistry, and gold-mercury amalgam is used in the extraction of gold from ore. Zinc amalgam finds use in
Alchemy and chemistry in medieval Islam of alchemical texts: Theatrum Chemicum, and commented upon by Pseudo Aquinas in Aurora Consurgens. They both also give his (modified) image of the sage holding a chemical table (see image above). Al-Tughrai was an 11th–12th century Persian physician. whose work the"Masabih al-hikma wa-mafatih al-rahma" (The Lanterns of Wisdom and the Keys of Mercy) is one of the earliest works of material sciences. Al-Jildaki who was a Persian alchemist urged in his book the need for experimental chemistry and mentioned many experiments "Kanz al-ikhtisas fi ma'rifat al-khawas by Abu 'l-Qasim Aydamir al-Jildaki". Jābir analyzed each Aristotelian element in terms of Aristotle's