<text><span class="style10">hat is Chemistry? (1 of 6)</span><span class="style7">Alchemy, from which modern chemistry derives its name, probably had its origins in the region of Khimi, 'the land of black earth', in the Nile Delta. It was here, more than 4000 years ago, that it was first discovered that the action of heat on minerals could result in the isolation of metals and glasses with useful properties - and which could therefore be sold at a profit. The practice of alchemy spread throughout the Arab world and into Asia, gaining from the Chinese the secret of making gunpowder in the process.</span></text>
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<text>The discovery of alcoholic fermentation is lost in the mists of time. Noah's first task after the Flood was to plant a vineyard (Genesis 9.20). The alcohol present in beers, wines and spirits is ethanol. The art of distilling alcohol from fermented juices represents an important early example of a chemical separation technique.</text>
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<text>ΓÇó CHEMISTRYΓÇó OIL AND GASΓÇó IRON AND STEELΓÇó RUBBER AND PLASTICSΓÇó CHEMICALS AND BIO TECHNOLOGY</text>
