“What makes every work perfect is cooking and grinding”: the ancient roots of mechanochemistry

Abstract

This paper explores the historical significance of milling in various technological areas from ancient times, emphasizing its role beyond the simple ingredient reduction. The study focuses on sources from the 1^st to the 10^th centuries: philologists selected, studied, and translated ancient sources, while chemists provided chemical interpretations by replicating the recipes in the laboratory. The study delves into the synthesis of cinnabar from mercury and sulphur, or mineral ores such as orpiment, realgar, and stibnite. While the mercury–sulphur reaction is known, the synthesis from sulphide ores is not reported in the literature. Chemical replication assessed the reactions' feasibility and confirmed the fundamental role of grinding for the yield of the reaction, which was already recognized by the alchemist Zosimus of Panopolis (3^rd–4^th cent. CE) who claimed “what makes every work perfect is cooking and griding”.