Chemistry

Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter.[1] It is a physical science
within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and compounds made
of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, properties, behavior and the changes they
undergo during reactions with other substances.[2][3][4][5] Chemistry also addresses the nature of chemical
bonds in chemical compounds.

In the scope of its subject, chemistry occupies an intermediate position between physics and biology.[6] It
is sometimes called the central science because it provides a foundation for understanding both basic and
applied scientific disciplines at a fundamental level.[7] For example, chemistry explains aspects of plant
growth (botany), the formation of igneous rocks (geology), how atmospheric ozone is formed and how
environmental pollutants are degraded (ecology), the properties of the soil on the Moon
(cosmochemistry), how medications work (pharmacology), and how to collect DNA evidence at a crime
scene (forensics).

Chemistry has existed under various names since ancient times.[8] It has evolved, and now chemistry
encompasses various areas of specialisation, or subdisciplines, that continue to increase in number and
interrelate to create further interdisciplinary fields of study. The applications of various fields of
chemistry are used frequently for economic purposes in the chemical industry.

Etymology
The word chemistry comes from a modification during the Renaissance of the word alchemy, which
referred to an earlier set of practices that encompassed elements of chemistry, metallurgy, philosophy,
astrology, astronomy, mysticism, and medicine. Alchemy is often associated with the quest to turn lead or
other base metals into gold, though alchemists were also interested in many of the questions of modern
chemistry. [9][10]

The modern word alchemy in turn is derived from the Arabic word al-kīmīā (‫)الكیمیاء‬. This may have
Egyptian origins since al-kīmīā is derived from the Ancient Greek χημία, which is in turn derived from
the word Kemet, which is the ancient name of Egypt in the Egyptian language.[11] Alternately, al-kīmīā
may derive from χημεία 'cast together'.[12]

Modern principles
The current model of atomic structure is the quantum mechanical model.[13] Traditional chemistry starts
with the study of elementary particles, atoms, molecules,[14] substances, metals, crystals and other
aggregates of matter. Matter can be studied in solid, liquid, gas and plasma states, in isolation or in
combination. The interactions, reactions and transformations
that are studied in chemistry are usually the result of
interactions between atoms, leading to rearrangements of the
chemical bonds which hold atoms together. Such behaviors
are studied in a chemistry laboratory.

The chemistry laboratory stereotypically uses various forms

of laboratory glassware. However glassware is not central to
chemistry, and a great deal of experimental (as well as
applied/industrial) chemistry is done without it.
Laboratory, Institute of Biochemistry,
A chemical reaction is a transformation of some substances University of Cologne in Germany
into one or more different substances.[15] The basis of such a
chemical transformation is the rearrangement of electrons in
the chemical bonds between atoms. It can be symbolically
depicted through a chemical equation, which usually involves
atoms as subjects. The number of atoms on the left and the right in
the equation for a chemical transformation is equal. (When the
number of atoms on either side is unequal, the transformation is
referred to as a nuclear reaction or radioactive decay.) The type 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.
Solutions of substances in reagent
Energy and entropy considerations are invariably important in bottles, including ammonium
almost all chemical studies. Chemical substances are classified in hydroxide and nitric acid, illuminated
in different colors
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.[16] Most chemists specialize in one or more sub-disciplines. Several concepts are essential for
the study of chemistry; some of them are:[17]

Matter
In chemistry, matter is defined as anything that has rest mass and volume (it takes up space) and is made
up of particles. The particles that make up matter have rest mass as well – not all particles have rest mass,
such as the photon. Matter can be a pure chemical substance or a mixture of substances.[18]

Atom
The atom is the basic unit of chemistry. It consists of a dense core called the atomic nucleus surrounded
by a space occupied by an electron cloud. The nucleus is made up of positively charged protons and
uncharged neutrons (together called nucleons), while the electron cloud consists of negatively charged
electrons which orbit the nucleus. In a neutral atom, the negatively charged electrons balance out the
positive charge of the protons. The nucleus is dense; the mass of a nucleon is approximately 1,836 times
that of an electron, yet the radius of an atom is about 10,000 times that of its nucleus.[19][20]
 The atom is also the smallest entity that can be envisaged to retain the
chemical properties of the element, such as electronegativity, ionization
potential, preferred oxidation state(s), coordination number, and preferred
types of bonds to form (e.g., metallic, ionic, covalent).

Element

A diagram of an atom
based on the Rutherford
model

A chemical element is a pure substance which is

composed of a single type of atom, characterized by
its particular number of protons in the nuclei of its Standard form of the periodic table of chemical
atoms, known as the atomic number and represented elements. The colors represent different blocks of
elements.
by the symbol Z. The mass number is the sum of the
number of protons and neutrons in a nucleus.
Although all the nuclei of all atoms belonging to one element will have the same atomic number, they
may not necessarily have the same mass number; atoms of an element which have different mass
numbers are known as isotopes. For example, all atoms with 6 protons in their nuclei are atoms of the
chemical element carbon, but atoms of carbon may have mass numbers of 12 or 13.[20]

The standard presentation of the chemical elements is in the periodic table, which orders elements by
atomic number. The periodic table is arranged in groups, or columns, and periods, or rows. The periodic
table is useful in identifying periodic trends.[21]

Compound
A compound is a pure chemical substance composed of more than one element.
The properties of a compound bear little similarity to those of its elements.[22]
The standard nomenclature of compounds is set by the International Union of
Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). Organic compounds are named according
to the organic nomenclature system.[23] The names for inorganic compounds are
created according to the inorganic nomenclature system. When a compound has
Carbon dioxide
more than one component, then they are divided into two classes, the
(CO2), an example of
a chemical electropositive and the electronegative components.[24] In addition the Chemical
compound Abstracts Service has devised a method to index chemical substances. In this
scheme each chemical substance is identifiable by a number known as its CAS
registry number.

Molecule
A molecule is the smallest indivisible portion of a pure chemical substance that has its unique set of
chemical properties, that is, its potential to undergo a certain set of chemical reactions with other
substances. However, this definition only works well for substances that are composed of molecules,
which is not true of many substances (see below). Molecules are
typically a set of atoms bound together by covalent bonds, such
that the structure is electrically neutral and all valence electrons
are paired with other electrons either in bonds or in lone pairs.

Thus, molecules exist as electrically neutral units, unlike ions.

When this rule is broken, giving the "molecule" a charge, the
result is sometimes named a molecular ion or a polyatomic ion.
However, the discrete and separate nature of the molecular
concept usually requires that molecular ions be present only in
well-separated form, such as a directed beam in a vacuum in a
A ball-and-stick representation of the
mass spectrometer. Charged polyatomic collections residing in caffeine molecule (C8H10N4O2)
solids (for example, common sulfate or nitrate ions) are
generally not considered "molecules" in chemistry. Some
molecules contain one or more unpaired electrons, creating radicals. Most radicals are comparatively
reactive, but some, such as nitric oxide (NO) can be stable.

The "inert" or noble gas elements (helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon and
radon) are composed of lone atoms as their smallest discrete unit, but the
other isolated chemical elements consist of either molecules or networks of
atoms bonded to each other in some way. Identifiable molecules compose
familiar substances such as water, air, and many organic compounds like
alcohol, sugar, gasoline, and the various pharmaceuticals.

However, not all substances or chemical compounds consist of discrete

molecules, and indeed most of the solid substances that make up the solid
A 2-D structural formula crust, mantle, and core of the Earth are chemical compounds without
of a benzene molecule molecules. These other types of substances, such as ionic compounds and
(C6H6)
network solids, are organized in such a way as to lack the existence of
identifiable molecules per se. Instead, these substances are discussed in terms
of formula units or unit cells as the smallest repeating structure within the substance. Examples of such
substances are mineral salts (such as table salt), solids like carbon and diamond, metals, and familiar
silica and silicate minerals such as quartz and granite.

One of the main characteristics of a molecule is its geometry often called its structure. While the structure
of diatomic, triatomic or tetra-atomic molecules may be trivial, (linear, angular pyramidal etc.) the
structure of polyatomic molecules, that are constituted of more than six atoms (of several elements) can
be crucial for its chemical nature.

Substance and mixture

A chemical substance is a kind of matter with a
definite composition and set of properties.[25] A
collection of substances is called a mixture. Examples
of mixtures are air and alloys.[26]

Mole and amount of substance

The mole is a unit of measurement that denotes an
amount of substance (also called chemical amount).
One mole is defined to contain exactly
6.022 140 76 × 1023 particles (atoms, molecules, ions,
or electrons), where the number of particles per mole is Examples of pure chemical substances. From
known as the Avogadro constant.[27] Molar left to right: the elements tin (Sn) and sulfur
concentration is the amount of a particular substance (S), diamond (an allotrope of carbon), sucrose
per volume of solution, and is commonly reported in (pure sugar), and sodium chloride (salt) and
sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), which are
mol/dm3.[28]
both ionic compounds.

Phase
In addition to the specific chemical properties that
distinguish different chemical classifications, chemicals
can exist in several phases. For the most part, the
chemical classifications are independent of these bulk
phase classifications; however, some more exotic phases
are incompatible with certain chemical properties. A
phase is a set of states of a chemical system that have
similar bulk structural properties, over a range of Diagram showing relationships among the
conditions, such as pressure or temperature. phases and the terms used to describe phase
changes
Physical properties, such as density and refractive index
tend to fall within values characteristic of the phase. The
phase of matter is defined by the phase transition, which is when energy put into or taken out of the
system goes into rearranging the structure of the system, instead of changing the bulk conditions.

Sometimes the distinction between phases can be continuous instead of having a discrete boundary' in
this case the matter is considered to be in a supercritical state. When three states meet based on the
conditions, it is known as a triple point and since this is invariant, it is a convenient way to define a set of
conditions.

The most familiar examples of phases are solids, liquids, and gases. Many substances exhibit multiple
solid phases. For example, there are three phases of solid iron (alpha, gamma, and delta) that vary based
on temperature and pressure. A principal difference between solid phases is the crystal structure, or
arrangement, of the atoms. Another phase commonly encountered in the study of chemistry is the
aqueous phase, which is the state of substances dissolved in aqueous solution (that is, in water).

Less familiar phases include plasmas, Bose–Einstein condensates and fermionic condensates and the
paramagnetic and ferromagnetic phases of magnetic materials. While most familiar phases deal with
three-dimensional systems, it is also possible to define analogs in two-dimensional systems, which has
received attention for its relevance to systems in biology.

Bonding
Atoms sticking together in molecules or crystals are said to be bonded with one another. A chemical bond
may be visualized as the multipole balance between the positive charges in the nuclei and the negative
charges oscillating about them.[29] More than simple attraction and repulsion, the energies and
distributions characterize the availability of an electron to
bond to another atom.

The chemical bond can be a covalent bond, an ionic bond, a

hydrogen bond or just because of Van der Waals force. Each
of these kinds of bonds is ascribed to some potential. These
potentials create the interactions which hold atoms together in
molecules or crystals. In many simple compounds, valence An animation of the process of ionic
bonding between sodium (Na) and
bond theory, the Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion model
chlorine (Cl) to form sodium chloride, or
(VSEPR), and the concept of oxidation number can be used to common table salt. Ionic bonding
explain molecular structure and composition. involves one atom taking valence
electrons from another (as opposed to
An ionic bond is formed when a metal loses one or more of sharing, which occurs in covalent
its electrons, becoming a positively charged cation, and the bonding).
electrons are then gained by the non-metal atom, becoming a
negatively charged anion. The two oppositely charged ions
attract one another, and the ionic bond is the electrostatic force of attraction between them. For example,
sodium (Na), a metal, loses one electron to become an Na+ cation while chlorine (Cl), a non-metal, gains
this electron to become Cl−. The ions are held together due to electrostatic attraction, and that compound
sodium chloride (NaCl), or common table salt, is formed.

In a covalent bond, one or more pairs of valence electrons are shared by

two atoms: the resulting electrically neutral group of bonded atoms is
termed a molecule. Atoms will share valence electrons in such a way as to
create a noble gas electron configuration (eight electrons in their
outermost shell) for each atom. Atoms that tend to combine in such a way
that they each have eight electrons in their valence shell are said to follow
the octet rule. However, some elements like hydrogen and lithium need
only two electrons in their outermost shell to attain this stable
configuration; these atoms are said to follow the duet rule, and in this way
In the methane molecule
they are reaching the electron configuration of the noble gas helium,
(CH4), the carbon atom
shares a pair of valence
which has two electrons in its outer shell.
electrons with each of the
four hydrogen atoms. Thus,
Similarly, theories from classical physics can be used to predict many
the octet rule is satisfied for ionic structures. With more complicated compounds, such as metal
C-atom (it has eight complexes, valence bond theory is less applicable and alternative
electrons in its valence approaches, such as the molecular orbital theory, are generally used. See
shell) and the duet rule is diagram on electronic orbitals.
satisfied for the H-atoms
(they have two electrons in
their valence shells). Energy
In the context of chemistry, energy is an attribute of a substance as a
consequence of its atomic, molecular or aggregate structure. Since a chemical transformation is
accompanied by a change in one or more of these kinds of structures, it is invariably accompanied by an
increase or decrease of energy of the substances involved. Some energy is transferred between the
surroundings and the reactants of the reaction in the form of heat or light; thus the products of a reaction
may have more or less energy than the reactants.
A reaction is said to be exergonic if the final state is lower on the energy scale than the initial state; in the
case of endergonic reactions the situation is the reverse. A reaction is said to be exothermic if the reaction
releases heat to the surroundings; in the case of endothermic reactions, the reaction absorbs heat from the
surroundings.

Chemical reactions are invariably not possible unless the reactants surmount an energy barrier known as
the activation energy. The speed of a chemical reaction (at given temperature T) is related to the
activation energy E, by the Boltzmann's population factor – that is the probability of a molecule
to have energy greater than or equal to E at the given temperature T. This exponential dependence of a
reaction rate on temperature is known as the Arrhenius equation. The activation energy necessary for a
chemical reaction to occur can be in the form of heat, light, electricity or mechanical force in the form of
ultrasound.[30]

A related concept free energy, which also incorporates entropy considerations, is a very useful means for
predicting the feasibility of a reaction and determining the state of equilibrium of a chemical reaction, in
chemical thermodynamics. A reaction is feasible only if the total change in the Gibbs free energy is
negative, ; if it is equal to zero the chemical reaction is said to be at equilibrium.

There exist only limited possible states of energy for electrons, atoms and molecules. These are
determined by the rules of quantum mechanics, which require quantization of energy of a bound system.
The atoms/molecules in a higher energy state are said to be excited. The molecules/atoms of substance in
an excited energy state are often much more reactive; that is, more amenable to chemical reactions.

The phase of a substance is invariably determined by its energy and the energy of its surroundings. When
the intermolecular forces of a substance are such that the energy of the surroundings is not sufficient to
overcome them, it occurs in a more ordered phase like liquid or solid as is the case with water (H2O); a
liquid at room temperature because its molecules are bound by hydrogen bonds.[31] Whereas hydrogen
sulfide (H2S) is a gas at room temperature and standard pressure, as its molecules are bound by weaker
dipole–dipole interactions.

The transfer of energy from one chemical substance to another depends on the size of energy quanta
emitted from one substance. However, heat energy is often transferred more easily from almost any
substance to another because the phonons responsible for vibrational and rotational energy levels in a
substance have much less energy than photons invoked for the electronic energy transfer. Thus, because
vibrational and rotational energy levels are more closely spaced than electronic energy levels, heat is
more easily transferred between substances relative to light or other forms of electronic energy. For
example, ultraviolet electromagnetic radiation is not transferred with as much efficacy from one
substance to another as thermal or electrical energy.

The existence of characteristic energy levels for different chemical substances is useful for their
identification by the analysis of spectral lines. Different kinds of spectra are often used in chemical
spectroscopy, e.g. IR, microwave, NMR, ESR, etc. Spectroscopy is also used to identify the composition
of remote objects – like stars and distant galaxies – by analyzing their radiation spectra.
The term chemical energy
is often used to indicate
the potential of a
chemical substance to
Emission spectrum of iron
undergo a transformation
through a chemical
reaction or to transform other chemical substances.

Reaction
When a chemical substance is transformed as a result of its
interaction with another substance or with energy, a chemical
reaction is said to have occurred. A chemical reaction is therefore
a concept related to the "reaction" of a substance when it comes in
close contact with another, whether as a mixture or a solution;
exposure to some form of energy, or both. It results in some
energy exchange between the constituents of the reaction as well
as with the system environment, which may be designed vessels—
often laboratory glassware. During chemical reactions, bonds
between atoms break and form,
Chemical reactions can result in the formation or dissociation of resulting in different substances with
molecules, that is, molecules breaking apart to form two or more different properties. In a blast
molecules or rearrangement of atoms within or across molecules. furnace, iron oxide, a compound,
Chemical reactions usually involve the making or breaking of reacts with carbon monoxide to form
iron, one of the chemical elements,
chemical bonds. Oxidation, reduction, dissociation, acid–base
and carbon dioxide.
neutralization and molecular rearrangement are some examples of
common chemical reactions.

A chemical reaction can be symbolically depicted through a chemical equation. While in a non-nuclear
chemical reaction the number and kind of atoms on both sides of the equation are equal, for a nuclear
reaction this holds true only for the nuclear particles viz. protons and neutrons.[32]

The sequence of steps in which the reorganization of chemical bonds may be taking place in the course of
a chemical reaction is called its mechanism. A chemical reaction can be envisioned to take place in a
number of steps, each of which may have a different speed. Many reaction intermediates with variable
stability can thus be envisaged during the course of a reaction. Reaction mechanisms are proposed to
explain the kinetics and the relative product mix of a reaction. Many physical chemists specialize in
exploring and proposing the mechanisms of various chemical reactions. Several empirical rules, like the
Woodward–Hoffmann rules often come in handy while proposing a mechanism for a chemical reaction.

According to the IUPAC gold book, a chemical reaction is "a process that results in the interconversion of
chemical species."[33] Accordingly, a chemical reaction may be an elementary reaction or a stepwise
reaction. An additional caveat is made, in that this definition includes cases where the interconversion of
conformers is experimentally observable. Such detectable chemical reactions normally involve sets of
molecular entities as indicated by this definition, but it is often conceptually convenient to use the term
also for changes involving single molecular entities (i.e. 'microscopic chemical events').

Ions and salts

An ion is a charged species, an atom or a molecule, that has lost or gained
one or more electrons. When an atom loses an electron and thus has more
protons than electrons, the atom is a positively charged ion or cation.
When an atom gains an electron and thus has more electrons than protons,
the atom is a negatively charged ion or anion. Cations and anions can
form a crystalline lattice of neutral salts, such as the Na+ and Cl− ions
forming sodium chloride, or NaCl. Examples of polyatomic ions that do
not split up during acid–base reactions are hydroxide (OH−) and
phosphate (PO43−).
The crystal lattice structure
Plasma is composed of gaseous matter that has been completely ionized, of potassium chloride (KCl),
usually through high temperature. a salt which is formed due
to the attraction of K+
cations and Cl− anions. The
Acidity and basicity overall charge of the ionic
compound is zero.
A substance can often be classified as an
acid or a base. There are several different
theories which explain acid–base behavior. The simplest is Arrhenius
theory, which states that acid is a substance that produces hydronium
ions when it is dissolved in water, and a base is one that produces
hydroxide ions when dissolved in water. According to Brønsted–Lowry
acid–base theory, acids are substances that donate a positive hydrogen
ion to another substance in a chemical reaction; by extension, a base is
Hydrogen bromide exists in
the substance which receives that hydrogen ion.
the gas phase as a diatomic
molecule. A third common theory is Lewis acid–base theory, which is based on the
formation of new chemical bonds. Lewis theory explains that an acid is a
substance which is capable of accepting a pair of electrons from another
substance during the process of bond formation, while a base is a substance which can provide a pair of
electrons to form a new bond. There are several other ways in which a substance may be classified as an
acid or a base, as is evident in the history of this concept.[34]

Acid strength is commonly measured by two methods. One measurement, based on the Arrhenius
definition of acidity, is pH, which is a measurement of the hydronium ion concentration in a solution, as
expressed on a negative logarithmic scale. Thus, solutions that have a low pH have a high hydronium ion
concentration and can be said to be more acidic. The other measurement, based on the Brønsted–Lowry
definition, is the acid dissociation constant (Ka), which measures the relative ability of a substance to act
as an acid under the Brønsted–Lowry definition of an acid. That is, substances with a higher Ka are more
likely to donate hydrogen ions in chemical reactions than those with lower Ka values.

Redox
Redox (reduction-oxidation) reactions include all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation
state changed by either gaining electrons (reduction) or losing electrons (oxidation). Substances that have
the ability to oxidize other substances are said to be oxidative and are known as oxidizing agents,
oxidants or oxidizers. An oxidant removes electrons from another substance. Similarly, substances that
have the ability to reduce other substances are said to be reductive and are known as reducing agents,
reductants, or reducers.

A reductant transfers electrons to another substance and is thus oxidized itself. And because it "donates"
electrons it is also called an electron donor. Oxidation and reduction properly refer to a change in
oxidation number—the actual transfer of electrons may never occur. Thus, oxidation is better defined as
an increase in oxidation number, and reduction as a decrease in oxidation number.

Equilibrium
Although the concept of equilibrium is widely used across sciences, in the context of chemistry, it arises
whenever a number of different states of the chemical composition are possible, as for example, in a
mixture of several chemical compounds that can react with one another, or when a substance can be
present in more than one kind of phase.

A system of chemical substances at equilibrium, even though having an unchanging composition, is most
often not static; molecules of the substances continue to react with one another thus giving rise to a
dynamic equilibrium. Thus the concept describes the state in which the parameters such as chemical
composition remain unchanged over time.

Chemical laws
Chemical reactions are governed by certain laws, which have become fundamental concepts in chemistry.
Some of them are:

Avogadro's law
Beer–Lambert law
Boyle's law (1662, relating pressure and volume)
Charles's law (1787, relating volume and temperature)
Fick's laws of diffusion
Gay-Lussac's law (1809, relating pressure and temperature)
Le Chatelier's principle
Henry's law
Hess's law
Law of conservation of energy leads to the important concepts of equilibrium,
thermodynamics, and kinetics.
 Law of conservation of mass continues to be conserved in isolated systems, even in modern
physics. However, special relativity shows that due to mass–energy equivalence, whenever
non-material "energy" (heat, light, kinetic energy) is removed from a non-isolated system,
some mass will be lost with it. High energy losses result in loss of weighable amounts of
mass, an important topic in nuclear chemistry.
Law of definite composition, although in many systems (notably biomacromolecules and
minerals) the ratios tend to require large numbers, and are frequently represented as a
fraction.
Law of multiple proportions
Raoult's law

History
The history of chemistry spans a period from the ancient past to the present. Since several millennia BC,
civilizations were using technologies that would eventually form the basis of the various branches of
chemistry. Examples include extracting metals from ores, making pottery and glazes, fermenting beer and
wine, extracting chemicals from plants for medicine and perfume, rendering fat into soap, making glass,
and making alloys like bronze.

Chemistry was preceded by its protoscience, alchemy, which operated a non-scientific approach to
understanding the constituents of matter and their interactions. Despite being unsuccessful in explaining
the nature of matter and its transformations, alchemists set the stage for modern chemistry by performing
experiments and recording the results. Robert Boyle, although skeptical of elements and convinced of
alchemy, played a key part in elevating the "sacred art" as an independent, fundamental and philosophical
discipline in his work The Sceptical Chymist (1661).[35]

While both alchemy and chemistry are concerned with matter and its transformations, the crucial
difference was given by the scientific method that chemists employed in their work. Chemistry, as a body
of knowledge distinct from alchemy, became an established science with the work of Antoine Lavoisier,
who developed a law of conservation of mass that demanded careful measurement and quantitative
observations of chemical phenomena. The history of chemistry afterwards is intertwined with the history
of thermodynamics, especially through the work of Willard Gibbs.[36]

Definition
The definition of chemistry has changed over time, as new discoveries and theories add to the
functionality of the science. The term "chymistry", in the view of noted scientist Robert Boyle in 1661,
meant the subject of the material principles of mixed bodies.[37] In 1663, the chemist Christopher Glaser
described "chymistry" as a scientific art, by which one learns to dissolve bodies, and draw from them the
different substances on their composition, and how to unite them again, and exalt them to a higher
perfection.[38]

The 1730 definition of the word "chemistry", as used by Georg Ernst Stahl, meant the art of resolving
mixed, compound, or aggregate bodies into their principles; and of composing such bodies from those
principles.[39] In 1837, Jean-Baptiste Dumas considered the word "chemistry" to refer to the science
concerned with the laws and effects of molecular forces.[40] This definition further evolved until, in 1947,
it came to mean the science of substances: their structure, their properties, and the reactions that change
them into other substances – a characterization accepted by Linus Pauling.[41] More recently, in 1998,
Professor Raymond Chang broadened the definition of "chemistry" to mean the study of matter and the
changes it undergoes.[42]

Background
Early civilizations, such as the Egyptians[43] Babylonians and Indians[44]
amassed practical knowledge concerning the arts of metallurgy, pottery
and dyes, but did not develop a systematic theory.

A basic chemical hypothesis first emerged in Classical Greece with the

theory of four elements as propounded definitively by Aristotle stating
that fire, air, earth and water were the fundamental elements from which
everything is formed as a combination. Greek atomism dates back to 440
BC, arising in works by philosophers such as Democritus and Epicurus.
In 50 BCE, the Roman philosopher Lucretius expanded upon the theory
in his poem De rerum natura (On The Nature of Things).[45][46] Unlike
modern concepts of science, Greek atomism was purely philosophical in
nature, with little concern for empirical observations and no concern for Democritus' atomist
chemical experiments.[47] philosophy was later adopted
by Epicurus (341–270 BCE).
An early form of the idea of conservation of mass is the notion that
"Nothing comes from nothing" in Ancient Greek philosophy, which can
be found in Empedocles (approx. 4th century BC): "For it is impossible for anything to come to be from
what is not, and it cannot be brought about or heard of that what is should be utterly destroyed."[48] and
Epicurus (3rd century BC), who, describing the nature of the Universe, wrote that "the totality of things
was always such as it is now, and always will be".[49]

In the Hellenistic world the art of alchemy first proliferated, mingling

magic and occultism into the study of natural substances with the
ultimate goal of transmuting elements into gold and discovering the
elixir of eternal life.[50] Work, particularly the development of
distillation, continued in the early Byzantine period with the most
famous practitioner being the 4th century Greek-Egyptian Zosimos of
Panopolis.[51] Alchemy continued to be developed and practised
throughout the Arab world after the Muslim conquests,[52] and from
there, and from the Byzantine remnants,[53] diffused into medieval and
Renaissance Europe through Latin translations.

15th-century artistic The Arabic works attributed to Jabir ibn Hayyan introduced a systematic
impression of Jābir ibn classification of chemical substances, and provided instructions for
Hayyān (Geber), a Perso- deriving an inorganic compound (sal ammoniac or ammonium chloride)
Arab alchemist and pioneer from organic substances (such as plants, blood, and hair) by chemical
in organic chemistry
means.[54] Some Arabic Jabirian works (e.g., the "Book of Mercy", and
the "Book of Seventy") were later translated into Latin under the
Latinized name "Geber", [55] and in 13th-century Europe an anonymous writer, usually referred to as
pseudo-Geber, started to produce alchemical and metallurgical writings under this name.[56] Later
influential Muslim philosophers, such as Abū al-Rayhān al-Bīrūnī[57] and Avicenna[58] disputed the
theories of alchemy, particularly the theory of the transmutation of metals.

Improvements of the refining of ores and their extractions to smelt

metals was widely used source of information for early chemists in the
16th century, among them Georg Agricola (1494–1555), who published
his major work De re metallica in 1556. His work, describing highly
developed and complex processes of mining metal ores and metal
extraction, were the pinnacle of metallurgy during that time. His
approach removed all mysticism associated with the subject, creating the
practical base upon which others could and would build. The work
describes the many kinds of furnace used to smelt ore, and stimulated
interest in minerals and their composition. Agricola has been described
as the "father of metallurgy" and the founder of geology as a scientific
discipline.[62][60][61]

Under the influence of the new empirical methods propounded by Sir Georgius Agricola, author of
De re metallica, was the first
Francis Bacon and others, a group of chemists at Oxford, Robert Boyle,
to drop the Arabic definite
Robert Hooke and John Mayow began to reshape the old alchemical article al-, exclusively writing
traditions into a scientific discipline. Boyle in particular questioned some chymia and chymista, giving
commonly held chemical theories and argued for chemical practitioners chemistry its modern
to be more "philosophical" and less commercially focused in The name.[59][60][61]
Sceptical Chemyst.[35] He formulated Boyle's law, rejected the classical
"four elements" and proposed a mechanistic alternative of atoms and
chemical reactions that could be subject to rigorous experiment.[63]

In the following decades, many important discoveries were made, such

as the nature of 'air' which was discovered to be composed of many
different gases. The Scottish chemist Joseph Black and the Flemish Jan
Baptist van Helmont discovered carbon dioxide, or what Black called
'fixed air' in 1754; Henry Cavendish discovered hydrogen and elucidated
its properties and Joseph Priestley and, independently, Carl Wilhelm
Scheele isolated pure oxygen. The theory of phlogiston (a substance at
the root of all combustion) was propounded by the German Georg Ernst
Stahl in the early 18th century and was only overturned by the end of the
century by the French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, the chemical analogue
of Newton in physics. Lavoisier did more than any other to establish the Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier
new science on proper theoretical footing, by elucidating the principle of is considered the "Father of
conservation of mass and developing a new system of chemical Modern Chemistry".[64]
nomenclature used to this day.[65]

English scientist John Dalton proposed the modern theory of atoms; that all substances are composed of
indivisible 'atoms' of matter and that different atoms have varying atomic weights.

The development of the electrochemical theory of chemical combinations occurred in the early 19th
century as the result of the work of two scientists in particular, Jöns Jacob Berzelius and Humphry Davy,
made possible by the prior invention of the voltaic pile by Alessandro Volta. Davy discovered nine new
elements including the alkali metals by extracting them from their oxides with electric current.[66]

British William Prout first proposed ordering all the elements by

their atomic weight as all atoms had a weight that was an exact
multiple of the atomic weight of hydrogen. J.A.R. Newlands
devised an early table of elements, which was then developed into
the modern periodic table of elements[69] in the 1860s by Dmitri
Mendeleev and independently by several other scientists including
Julius Lothar Meyer.[70][71] The inert gases, later called the noble
gases were discovered by William Ramsay in collaboration with
Lord Rayleigh at the end of the century, thereby filling in the basic
In his periodic table, Dmitri structure of the table.
Mendeleev predicted the existence
of 7 new elements,[67] and placed all At the turn of the twentieth century
60 elements known at the time in the theoretical underpinnings of
their correct places.[68] chemistry were finally understood
due to a series of remarkable
discoveries that succeeded in
probing and discovering the very nature of the internal structure of atoms.
In 1897, J.J. Thomson of the University of Cambridge discovered the
electron and soon after the French scientist Becquerel as well as the
couple Pierre and Marie Curie investigated the phenomenon of
radioactivity. In a series of pioneering scattering experiments Ernest
Rutherford at the University of Manchester discovered the internal
structure of the atom and the existence of the proton, classified and
explained the different types of radioactivity and successfully transmuted
the first element by bombarding nitrogen with alpha particles. Top: Expected results:
alpha particles passing
His work on atomic structure was improved on by his students, the Danish through the plum pudding
model of the atom
physicist Niels Bohr, the Englishman Henry Moseley and the German
undisturbed.
Otto Hahn, who went on to father the emerging nuclear chemistry and Bottom: Observed results: a
discovered nuclear fission. The electronic theory of chemical bonds and small portion of the particles
molecular orbitals was developed by the American scientists Linus were deflected, indicating a
Pauling and Gilbert N. Lewis. small, concentrated charge.

The year 2011 was declared by the United Nations as the International
Year of Chemistry.[72] It was an initiative of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, and
of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization and involves chemical societies,
academics, and institutions worldwide and relied on individual initiatives to organize local and regional
activities.
Organic chemistry was developed by Justus von Liebig and others, following Friedrich Wöhler's
synthesis of urea.[73] Other crucial 19th century advances were; an understanding of valence bonding
(Edward Frankland in 1852) and the application of thermodynamics to chemistry (J. W. Gibbs and Svante
Arrhenius in the 1870s).

Practice
In the practice of chemistry, pure chemistry is the study of the fundamental principles of chemistry,
while applied chemistry applies that knowledge to develop technology and solve real-world problems.

Subdisciplines
Chemistry is typically divided into several major sub-disciplines. There are also several main cross-
disciplinary and more specialized fields of chemistry.[74]

Analytical chemistry is the analysis of material samples to gain an understanding of their

chemical composition and structure. Analytical chemistry incorporates standardized
experimental methods in chemistry. These methods may be used in all subdisciplines of
chemistry, excluding purely theoretical chemistry.[75]
Biochemistry is the study of the chemicals,
chemical reactions and interactions that
take place at a molecular level in living
organisms. Biochemistry is highly
interdisciplinary, covering medicinal
chemistry, neurochemistry, molecular
biology, forensics, plant science and
genetics.[77]
Inorganic chemistry is the study of the
properties and reactions of inorganic
compounds, such as metals and In analytical chemistry, spectroscopy studies
minerals.[78] The distinction between interactions between electromagnetic radiation
organic and inorganic disciplines is not (light) and matter.[76] A spectrophotometer is a
absolute and there is much overlap, most machine used to measure the effect light has on
importantly in the sub-discipline of matter. The model pictured is the Beckman DU-640
organometallic chemistry.
Materials chemistry is the preparation,
characterization, and understanding of solid state components or devices with a useful
current or future function.[81] The field is a new breadth of study in graduate programs, and it
integrates elements from all classical areas of chemistry like organic chemistry, inorganic
chemistry, and crystallography with a focus on fundamental issues that are unique to
materials. Primary systems of study include the chemistry of condensed phases (solids,
liquids, polymers) and interfaces between different phases.
Neurochemistry is the study of neurochemicals; including transmitters, peptides, proteins,
lipids, sugars, and nucleic acids; their interactions, and the roles they play in forming,
maintaining, and modifying the nervous system.
Nuclear chemistry is the study of how subatomic particles come together and make nuclei.
Modern transmutation is a large component of nuclear chemistry, and the table of nuclides is
an important result and tool for this field. In addition to medical applications, nuclear
chemistry encompasses nuclear engineering which explores the topic of using nuclear
power sources for generating energy[82][83]
 Organic chemistry is the study of the
structure, properties, composition,
mechanisms, and reactions of organic
compounds. An organic compound is
defined as any compound based on a
carbon skeleton. Organic compounds
can be classified, organized and
understood in reactions by their
The Kaminsky catalyst is an organometallic complex that
functional groups, unit atoms or
features either zirconium or hafnium metal centers.
molecules that show characteristic
Depending on the placement of the catalyst's
chemical properties in a
cyclopentadiene ligands, it can produce polypropylenes
compound.[85]
with different tacticity.[79]1 creates atactic polypropylene,
Physical chemistry is the study of the
which is soft and amorphous with a free-flowing
physical and fundamental basis of
composition. 2 creates isotactic polypropylene, which is
chemical systems and processes. In
hard and used in re-usable plastic containers. 3 creates
particular, the energetics and
syndiotactic polypropylene, which is rubbery and semi-
dynamics of such systems and
crystalline.[80] processes are of interest to physical
chemists. Important areas of study
include chemical thermodynamics, chemical
kinetics, electrochemistry, statistical
mechanics, spectroscopy, and more
recently, astrochemistry. Physical chemistry
has large overlap with molecular physics.
Physical chemistry involves the use of
infinitesimal calculus in deriving equations.
It is usually associated with quantum
chemistry and theoretical chemistry.
Physical chemistry is a distinct discipline
from chemical physics, but again, there is
very strong overlap.
The Little Boy is an atomic bomb utilizing a
Theoretical chemistry is the study of
uranium-235 fission reaction.[84] By firing sub-
chemistry via fundamental theoretical
reasoning (usually within mathematics or critical uranium into another mass of sub-critical
physics). In particular the application of uranium within the bomb, a self-sustaining nuclear
quantum mechanics to chemistry is called reaction (the critical mass). It generated an
quantum chemistry. Since the end of the explosive force of over 15,000 tons of equivalent
Second World War, the development of TNT
computers has allowed a systematic
development of computational chemistry,
which is the art of developing and applying
computer programs for solving chemical
problems. Theoretical chemistry has large
overlap with (theoretical and experimental)
condensed matter physics and molecular
physics.
Others subdivisions include electrochemistry,
4-Hydroxybutanal is an organic compound with
femtochemistry, flavor chemistry, flow chemistry, an aldehyde (right) functional group and an
immunohistochemistry, hydrogenation chemistry, alcohol (left) functional group.
mathematical chemistry, molecular mechanics, natural
product chemistry, organometallic chemistry,
petrochemistry, photochemistry, physical
organic chemistry, polymer chemistry,
radiochemistry, sonochemistry,
supramolecular chemistry, synthetic
chemistry, and many others.

Interdisciplinary
Interdisciplinary fields include agrochemistry,
astrochemistry (and cosmochemistry),
atmospheric chemistry, chemical engineering,
chemical biology, chemo-informatics,
The Solvay Conference of 1927 featured foundational
environmental chemistry, geochemistry, green
scientists to the field of theoretical chemistry and physics.
chemistry, immunochemistry, marine This conference discussed electrons and photons
chemistry, materials science,
mechanochemistry, medicinal chemistry,
molecular biology, nanotechnology, oenology, pharmacology, phytochemistry, solid-state chemistry,
surface science, thermochemistry, and many others.

Industry
The chemical industry represents an important economic activity worldwide. The global top 50 chemical
producers in 2013 had sales of US$980.5 billion with a profit margin of 10.3%.[86]

Professional societies
American Chemical Society
American Society for Neurochemistry
Chemical Institute of Canada
Chemical Society of Peru
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
Royal Australian Chemical Institute
Royal Netherlands Chemical Society
Royal Society of Chemistry
Society of Chemical Industry
World Association of Theoretical and Computational Chemists
List of chemistry societies

See also

Chemistry portal

Science portal

Comparison of software for molecular mechanics modeling

 Glossary of chemistry terms
International Year of Chemistry
List of chemists
List of compounds
List of important publications in chemistry
List of unsolved problems in chemistry
Outline of chemistry
Periodic systems of small molecules
Philosophy of chemistry
Science tourism

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Further reading
Popular reading

Atkins, P. W. Galileo's Finger (Oxford University Press) ISBN 0-19-860941-8

Atkins, P. W. Atkins' Molecules (Cambridge University Press) ISBN 0-521-82397-8
Kean, Sam. The Disappearing Spoon – and Other True Tales from the Periodic Table (Black
Swan) London, England, 2010 ISBN 978-0-552-77750-6
Levi, Primo The Periodic Table (Penguin Books) [1975] translated from the Italian by
Raymond Rosenthal (1984) ISBN 978-0-14-139944-7
Stwertka, A. A Guide to the Elements (Oxford University Press) ISBN 0-19-515027-9
"Dictionary of the History of Ideas" (https://web.archive.org/web/20080310214753/http://etex
t.lib.virginia.edu/cgi-local/DHI/dhi.cgi?id=dv1-04). Archived from the original (http://etext.lib.vi
rginia.edu/cgi-local/DHI/dhi.cgi?id=dv1-04) on 10 March 2008.
"Chemistry" (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Chemistr
y). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 33–76.
Introductory undergraduate textbooks

Atkins, P.W., Overton, T., Rourke, J., Weller, M. and Armstrong, F. Shriver and Atkins
Inorganic Chemistry (4th ed.) 2006 (Oxford University Press) ISBN 0-19-926463-5
Chang, Raymond. Chemistry 6th ed. Boston, Massachusetts: James M. Smith, 1998.
ISBN 0-07-115221-0
Clayden, Jonathan; Greeves, Nick; Warren, Stuart; Wothers, Peter (2001). Organic
Chemistry (1st ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-850346-0.
Voet and Voet. Biochemistry (Wiley) ISBN 0-471-58651-X
Advanced undergraduate-level or graduate textbooks

Atkins, P. W. Physical Chemistry (Oxford University Press) ISBN 0-19-879285-9

Atkins, P. W. et al. Molecular Quantum Mechanics (Oxford University Press)
McWeeny, R. Coulson's Valence (Oxford Science Publications) ISBN 0-19-855144-4
Pauling, L. The Nature of the chemical bond (Cornell University Press) ISBN 0-8014-0333-2
Pauling, L., and Wilson, E. B. Introduction to Quantum Mechanics with Applications to
Chemistry (Dover Publications) ISBN 0-486-64871-0
Smart and Moore. Solid State Chemistry: An Introduction (Chapman and Hall) ISBN 0-412-
40040-5
Stephenson, G. Mathematical Methods for Science Students (Longman) ISBN 0-582-44416-
0

External links
General Chemistry principles, patterns and applications (http://www.saylor.org/site/textbook
s/General%20Chemistry%20Principles,%20Patterns,%20and%20Applications.pdf).
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chemistry&oldid=1253447186"