Ceration is a
chemical process
In a scientific sense, a chemical process is a method or means of somehow changing one or more chemicals or chemical compounds. Such a chemical process can occur by itself or be caused by an outside force, and involves a chemical reaction of som ...
, a common practice in
alchemy
Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...
. It is performed by continuously adding a
liquid
Liquid is a state of matter with a definite volume but no fixed shape. Liquids adapt to the shape of their container and are nearly incompressible, maintaining their volume even under pressure. The density of a liquid is usually close to th ...
by
imbibition
Imbibition is a special type of diffusion that takes place when liquid is absorbed by solids-Colloid, colloids causing an increase in volume. Water surface potential movement takes place along a concentration gradient; some dry materials absorb ...
to a hard, dry substance while it is heated. Typically, this treatment makes the substance softer, more like molten
wax (''cera'' in Latin).
Pseudo-Geber's ''
Summa Perfectionis'' explains that ceration is "the
mollification of an hard thing, not fusible unto liquefaction", and stresses the importance of correct humidity in the process.
Antoine-Joseph Pernety's 1787 mytho-Hermetic dictionary defines it somewhat differently as the time when matter passes from black to gray, and then to white. Continuous cooking effects this change. Ceration may be synonymous with similar terms for alchemical burning processes.
Incineration
Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of substances contained in waste materials. Industrial plants for waste incineration are commonly referred to as waste-to-energy facilities. Incineration and other high ...
, for example is listed by
Manly P. Hall.
See also
*
Calcination
Calcination is thermal treatment of a solid chemical compound (e.g. mixed carbonate ores) whereby the compound is raised to high temperature without melting under restricted supply of ambient oxygen (i.e. gaseous O2 fraction of air), generally f ...
*
Incineration
Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of substances contained in waste materials. Industrial plants for waste incineration are commonly referred to as waste-to-energy facilities. Incineration and other high ...
References
Alchemical processes
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