Editing Vitriol (section)

==History==
The study of vitriol began during [[classical antiquity|ancient times]]. [[Sumer]]ians had a list of types of vitriol that they classified according to the substances' color. Some of the earliest discussions of the origin and properties of vitriol is in the works of the Greek physician [[Dioscorides]] (first century AD) and the Roman naturalist [[Pliny the Elder]] (23–79 AD). [[Galen]] also discussed its medical use. Metallurgical uses for vitriolic substances were recorded in the Hellenistic alchemical works of [[Zosimos of Panopolis]], in the treatise ''Phisica et Mystica'', and the [[Leyden papyrus X]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Karpenko|first1=Vladimír|last2=Norris|first2=John A.|year=2002|title=Vitriol in the History of Chemistry|journal=Chemické listy|volume=96|issue=12|pages=997–1005|url=http://www.chemicke-listy.cz/ojs3/index.php/chemicke-listy/article/view/2266}}</ref>

[[Alchemy and chemistry in medieval Islam|Medieval Islamic chemists]] like [[Jabir ibn Hayyan|Jābir ibn Ḥayyān]] (died c. 806–816 AD, known in Latin as Geber), [[Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi|Abū Bakr al-Rāzī]] (865–925 AD, known in Latin as Rhazes), [[Ibn Sina]] (980–1037 AD, known in Latin as Avicenna), and [[Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-Watwat]] (1234–1318 AD) included vitriol in their mineral classification lists.<ref>{{harvnb|Karpenko|Norris|2002|pp=999–1000}}.</ref>

Sulfuric acid was termed "oil of vitriol" by medieval European alchemists because it was prepared by roasting "green vitriol" ([[iron(II) sulfate]]) in an iron [[retort]]. The first vague allusions to it appear in the works of [[Vincent of Beauvais]], in the ''Compositum de Compositis'' ascribed to Saint [[Albertus Magnus]], and in [[pseudo-Geber]]'s ''Summa perfectionis'' (all thirteenth century AD).<ref>{{harvnb|Karpenko|Norris|2002|pp=1002–1004}}.</ref>