Sir Issac Newton is considered the last alchemist. he was one of the geniuses of the time, inventing calculus, revolutionizing optics, ending the age of alchemy. Newton was neurotic, had little social life, and never married. he did countless experiments, systematizing further alchemical ideas, and soundly disproving many of them with newfound analytical tools. He was, like Boyle, a mechanical philosopher. though his beliefs differed from Boyle’s views, they ultimately lead to Newtonian mechanics, the three laws of motion. it is not inaccurate to say that almost all of Newtons achievements where driven by his philosophical interest in alchemy.

Robert Boyle is considered by many to be one of the founders of chemistry. having been the first person to describe what is now called boyle’s law, the inverse relationship between pressure and volume in gasses. This work was largely influenced by his philosophical and religious views. Boyle was an early adopter of what is called mechanical philosophy, the belief that the world was “the art of god” and as such study of this art could reveal much about reality. this study would lead to major discoveries in chemistry, especially surrounding the behavior of gasses.