India, Feb. 21 -- It was Hennig Brand who first synthesised phosphorus in its elemental form. He was aiming. for gold.

This was in the 1600s, a period when men of science around the world believed there was an element out there that could turn base metals into gold: the so-called philosopher's stone.

Brand, a German alchemist living in Hamburg, became convinced that urine held the key to such transformation. He collected and fermented barrels of it, boiled it for days, and eventually produced a black sludge. Further heating yielded waxy, glowing nuggets that were named phosphorus, Greek for "bringer of light".

In an era of pseudo-science, partial knowledge and quack-driven medicine, the eerie luminescence of phosphorus drew interest. T...