Danish astronomer’s lab contains traces of element unknown in his time Alchemical secrets

In the late 1500s and early 1600s, alchemists were known for their secretive craft, concocting mysterious remedies and elixirs in their private laboratories, Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, renowned primarily for his contributions to astronomy, was also deeply involved in alchemy.

Today, we might refer to them as proprietary blends, but during the late 1500s and early 1600s, alchemists called their concoctions ‘secrets’, Caliber.Az reports citing the foreign media.

Recent research published in Heritage Science has shed new light on one such alchemist's secrets: Tycho Brahe, renowned primarily for his contributions to astronomy, also had a basement laboratory dedicated to mixing medicines.

This study reveals more about the elements Brahe used in his alchemical experiments. Brahe’s renowned observatory, situated in his castle-like Uraniborg on the island of Ven (now part of Sweden), was dismantled after his death in 1601. However, researchers from the University of Southern Denmark and the National Museum of Denmark recently analyzed five shards recovered from the site’s former garden, believed to originate from Brahe’s alchemical laboratory.

Using mass spectrometry to analyze cross sections of these shards, the team identified 31 trace elements. While the presence of familiar elements such as nickel, copper, zinc, tin, antimony, gold, mercury, and lead was anticipated, the discovery of tungsten came as a surprise to the experts.

“Tungsten is quite mysterious,” remarked Kaare Lund Rasmussen, an archaeometry expert from the University of Southern Denmark. “Tungsten wasn’t even described until later, so what should we make of its presence on a shard from Tycho Brahe’s alchemical workshop?”

The answer remains unclear. Rasmussen notes that while tungsten naturally occurs in some minerals and could have inadvertently ended up in Brahe’s lab through such means, there is another intriguing possibility: Brahe might have used a secret substance to craft his medicines for Europe’s elite.

Tungsten, not classified as an element until the 1780s, was known in German chemistry as ‘Wolfram’ before this. Given that Brahe’s medicines were influenced by German practices, it’s possible he was aware of tungsten’s properties. However, Rasmussen acknowledges that this remains a speculative explanation based on the available analyses.

“Most intriguing are the elements found in higher-than-expected concentrations,” Rasmussen added. “This suggests some enrichment and provides insights into the materials used in Brahe’s laboratory.”

The alchemical process was shrouded in secrecy. Like his contemporaries, Brahe did not disclose the precise compositions of his remedies. His famed plague medicine, a complex concoction potentially comprising up to 60 ingredients—ranging from snake flesh and opium to copper, oils, and herbs—might have included tungsten among its many components.

“It may seem unusual that Tycho Brahe was engaged in both astronomy and alchemy, but his worldview provides clarity,” said Poul Grinder-Hansen, senior researcher and museum curator at the National Museum of Denmark. “Brahe saw clear connections between celestial bodies, early substances, and the body’s organs.”

In alchemy, gold and mercury were frequently used in medicines, and it was common to associate earthly elements with celestial properties and human anatomy. For example, silver was linked to the Moon and the brain, gold to the Sun and the heart. Tin was connected to Jupiter and the liver, copper to Venus and the kidneys, lead to Saturn and the spleen, iron to Mars and the gallbladder, and mercury to Mercury and the lungs. This symbolic system made gold a common component in medicines of the period, including those used by Brahe.

The role of tungsten in this framework, however, remains enigmatic. Its presence in Brahe’s laboratory continues to be a mystery.