How does a Philosopher's Stone work?


The Philosopher's Stone is said to be an alchemical amplifier, allowing an
alchemist to perform perfect transmutations, bypassing the laws of equivalent
exchange.

How does that work? Isn't the point of alchemy that you can only get as much
as you give?




The first thing you need to understand is that the stone does **not** let you
bypass the law of equivalent exchange, it is only an illusion. The stone
itself simply acts as an amplifier. Note that when the stone is used, it
eventually shrinks and loses his power. If it was able to bypass the
equivalent exchange law, why would it?

What really happens when one uses the stone? As we know, the stone

> is made of living souls.

Each time the stone is used, it lets the user to perform better than he/she
normally would. Doing so, however, uses the power of the

> souls that were used to create the stone. Basically, each time you use it,
> you use a soul (well, maybe it's not exactly 1 usage-1 soul relationship,
> but you get the idea). When all the souls are used, the stone ceases to
> exist. Note that since one needs **a lot** of souls to create the stone, it
> usually lasts long enough.




The first thing you need to understand is that the stone does **not** let you
bypass the law of equivalent exchange, it is only an illusion. The stone
itself simply acts as an amplifier. Note that when the stone is used, it
eventually shrinks and loses his power. If it was able to bypass the
equivalent exchange law, why would it?

What really happens when one uses the stone? As we know, the stone

> is made of living souls.

Each time the stone is used, it lets the user to perform better than he/she
normally would. Doing so, however, uses the power of the

> souls that were used to create the stone. Basically, each time you use it,
> you use a soul (well, maybe it's not exactly 1 usage-1 soul relationship,
> but you get the idea). When all the souls are used, the stone ceases to
> exist. Note that since one needs **a lot** of souls to create the stone, it
> usually lasts long enough.

