You might already know that alchemy flourished in the Middle Ages when people began going crazy over gold. They also believed that mercury could be converted into gold if they found the philosopher’s stone.
Alchemists would heat mercury with nitric acid to prepare mercuric oxide. The reaction produced a thick red vapour, which hovered over the surface of the solution. The mercuric oxide that was formed would fall to the bottom of the liquid in the form of bright red crystals.
Many of the alchemists used these crystals to fool people about the supposed powers of mercury including the power to grant eternal life. Some alchemists also used mercury to demonstrate that gold could be made artificially.
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