Philosopher's stone

The philosopher's stone, a longtime "holy grail" of Western alchemy, is a mythical substance that supposedly could turn inexpensive metals into gold and/or create an elixir that would make humans immortal. The Great Work, or Magnum Opus, refers to the quest for this stone. In addition, making the Philosopher's Stone is understood to confer a type of initiation upon the maker, and this initiation is the proper culmination of the Great Work.

The stone in fiction

The philosopher's stone has appeared in several works of fiction, such as:

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• J. K. Rowling's novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997) and its movie version (2001); retitled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the US.
• In the Justice League episode "A Knight of Shadows" the Philosopher's Stone (a rock instead of a powder) is sought after and ultimately destroyed.
• In DC Comics' series The Flash, Dr. Alchemy, one of the Flash's rogues, uses the Philosopher's Stone to transmute elements (and robs banks rather than simply creating gold).
• Satyajit Ray, The Philosopher's Stone (motion picture), 1958.
• Hans Christian Andersen, Philosopher's Stone.
• The Trumpeter of Krakow (1928) by Eric P. Kelly
• Carl Barks's Donald Duck comic story The Fabulous Philosopher's Stone. Walt Disney (1945), 24pp. Story code W US 10-02.
• Max McCoy, Indiana Jones and the Philosopher's Stone.
• Colin Henry Wilson's novel The Philosopher's Stone (1971)
• Diana Wynne Jones' novel The Ogre Downstairs (1974)
• Paulo Coelho's novel The Alchemist
• Computer game World of Warcraft, where an Alchemist uses the Stone as a mediating component in transmuting metals and elemental materials.
• Japanese anime and manga series Fullmetal Alchemist (2003), in which the Elric brothers seek after the Philosopher's Stone in order to restore their bodies through human transmutation.
• In the video game Valkyrie Profile, Lezard Valeth has possession of the Philosopher's Stone, referring to it as "the ten-billion-page codex."
• In the video game Devil May Cry, the Philosopher's Stone is the second key required to enter the underworld.
• In the video game Shadow of Destiny, the Philosopher's Stone is the source of the Homunculus.
• In Umberto Eco's novel Foucault's Pendulum a character asserts that the Philosopher's Stone is actually the mythical Holy Grail.
• In Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle, an unusually heavy sample of gold is believed to contain Philosopher's stone, perhaps because scientists of the 18th century were unaware of isotopes.
• In ', the Philosopher's Stone in mentioned in passing. The story does revolve around the Ebony Stone and the Crimson Stone, two artifacts created by accident while trying to create the Philosopher's Stone. The Ebony Stone weilds the power to shroud the area (several square kilometers) surrounding it in continuing darkness, thereby providing a boon to vampires. The Crimson Stone has a much more sinister power. Whenever a vampire is slain, their essence is passed on to the wielder of the Crimson Stone.
• In the video game Golden Sun, it is explained that when four "Elemental Lighthouses" are lit, the light of these Lighthouses would create the Stone of Sages.