Inorganic Chemistry: Journey to Powerful resource

INTRODUCTION Historically Inorganic chemistry is the oldest branch of chemistry and its origin can be traced to the knowledge acquired, presumably through accidental discoveries, by people in the very ancient civilizations as in Egypt, India and Mesopotamia (in India ca. 2500 B.C) (Roy P.C. 1956). In subsequent period the alchemists in China, in Egypt (ca 1200 � 1500 A.D) and later in Europe (ca1200- 1500 A.D) despite their queer views and objective made discoveries that contributed to the advancement of this branch of Chemistry. Extraction of zinc from the minerals calamine was first achieved in India by the alchemist Nagarjuna (9th century A.D.). Birth of modern inorganic chemistry is rightly attributed to the French chemistry A.L.Lavoisier s systematic studies on the phenomenon of combustion that established (1772 A.D.) the role of oxygen in a combustion process leading to demolition of classical phlogiston theory of Becher and of Stahl (17 th century).