Chemistry is an old science. People were always interested in chimicals. people who worked on chemicals befor the 1700s are called alchemists. they did not study chemistry like modren chemist. Their kind of chemistry was called alchemy. They had some strange ideas. For example,they belivedthey could make gold by mixing together the right things .For hundreds of years, alchemists tried to do this. Of couse no one ever made gold this way.