Chemistry is the science and study of matter. Chemistry is a branch of the natural sciences (eg. Biology, Physics, Geography etc) that deals with the composition of substances and their properties and reactions with each other. Another definition would be the chemical makeup, composition and properties of substances and things; eg. "the chemistry of water". budiz social networks. Chemistry is the science of matter, especially it's properties, structure, composition, behavior,reactions, interactions and the changes it undergoes. It is sometimes called "the central science" because it connects Physics with other natural sciences such as astronomy, geology and biology. The etymology of the word chemistry has been much disputed. The genesis of chemistry can be traced to certain practices, known as alchemy, which had been practiced for several millennia in various parts of the world, particularly the Middle East. Physics also studies matter. But Physics is the science of quantities of space and matter, and laws governing them. Chemistry is a branch of physical science, but not a branch of Physics. However, chemistry utilizes Physics. For example, Chemistry uses quantities like energy and entropy in relation to the spontaneity of chemical processes. It also explains the structure and properties of matter as a consequence of the physical properties of chemical substances and their interactions. For example, steel is harder than iron because its atoms are bound together in a more rigid crystalline lattice; wood burns or undergoes rapid oxidation because it can react spontaneously with oxygen in a chemical reaction above a certain temperature; sugar and salt dissolve in water because their molecular/ionic properties are such that dissolution is preferred under the ambient conditions;
Theory
Traditional chemistry starts with the study of Elementary_particles, atoms, molecules,[8] substances, metals, crystals, .. and other aggregates of matter. in solid, liquid, and gas states, whether in isolation or combination. The interactions, reactions and transformations that are studied in chemistry are a result of interaction either between different chemical substances or between matter and energy. Such behaviors are studied in a chemistry laboratory using various forms of laboratory glassware.
Laboratory, Institute of Biochemistry, University of Cologne
A chemical reaction is a transformation of some substances into one or more other substances. It can be symbolically depicted through a chemical equation. The number of atoms on the left and the right in the equation for a chemical transformation is most often equal. The nature of chemical reactions a substance may undergo and the energy changes that may accompany it are constrained by certain basic rules, known as chemical laws. Energy and entropy considerations are invariably important in almost all chemical studies. Chemical substances are classified in terms of their structure, phase as well as their chemical compositions. They can be analyzed using the tools of chemical analysis, e.g. spectroscopy and chromatography. Scientists engaged in chemical research are known as chemists. Most chemists specialize in one or more sub-disciplines.
History of chemistry
Ancient Egyptians pioneered the art of synthetic "wet" chemistry up to 4,000 years ago. By 1000 BC ancient civilizations were using technologies that formed the basis of the various branches of chemistry such as; extracting metal from their ores, making pottery and glazes, fermenting beer and wine, making pigments for cosmetics and painting, extracting chemicals from plants for medicine and perfume, making cheese, dying cloth, tanning leather, rendering fat into soap, making glass, and making alloys like bronze.
Democritus' atomist philosophy was later adopted by Epicurus (341–270 BCE). The genesis of chemistry can be traced to the widely observed phenomenon of burning that led to metallurgy—the art and science of processing ores to get metals (e.g. metallurgy in ancient India). The greed for gold led to the discovery of the process for its purification, even though the underlying principles were not well understood—it was thought to be a transformation rather than purification. Many scholars in those days thought it reasonable to believe that there exist means for transforming cheaper (base) metals into gold. This gave way to alchemy and the search for the Philosopher's Stone which was believed to bring about such a transformation by mere touch. |
