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The legendary Fifth Element holds the key to the answer to one of today’s top mysteries in the worlds of physics and cosmology. Scientists estimate that 84% of the matter in the universe is composed of invisible dark matter, but they have no idea what it is. With a short venture into the world of metaphysics, you are about to find out the answer!
In ancient Greece, all material things were said to be composed of a mixture of the four elements of earth, fire, water and air. There was also said to be a more subtle, fifth element. This was called the quintessence (literally, “fifth element”), implying its very delicate or refined state of existence.
For many centuries, philosophers considered that all matter consisted of combinations of the basic elements in the Greek tradition. In the early 1500s, Philip von Hohenheim boldly renamed himself Paracelsus, meaning “beyond the medical pioneer Celsus” and came out with a counter-proposal. He declared that, instead of the old elements, all things consist of the subtle essences of elements that he called salt, sulfur and mercury. However, this only served to confuse the situation further as both theories did little to identify the basic chemicals that combine to form the enormous variety of compounds that are found in nature.
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