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Q132 (IAS/2007) Science & Technology › Basic Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) › Periodic table elements Answer Verified

Which one among the following is called philosopher’s wool?

Result
Your answer: —  ·  Correct: C
Explanation

“Philosopher’s wool” is a historical name for zinc oxide (ZnO). Reference sources identify zinc oxide directly as “philosopher’s wool,” linking the term to the white, woolly or “white snow” appearance of ZnO obtained in early alchemical/chemical preparations [1]. Therefore, among the given choices, zinc oxide is correctly called philosopher’s wool. This nomenclature stems from older chemical literature and alchemical traditions where certain oxides were given descriptive names based on appearance and preparation methods [1].

Sources

  1. [1] https://tarek.kakhia.org/periodic_table/english/Zinc_30.Tarek_Kakhia.pdf
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