Learning Chemistry
Chemistry (from Arabic:
ءايميك
Latinized: chem (kēme), meaning "value") is a science of matter, inthis subject are studied changes matter can undergo regarding its composition, structure andproperties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, andparticularly with the properties of chemical bonds. The study of matter is also addressed by physics,but while physics takes a more general and fundamental approach, chemistry is more specialized,being concerned with the composition, behavior, structure, and properties of matter, as well as thechanges it undergoes during chemical reactions. Chemistry thus is a physical science for studies ofvarious atoms, molecules, crystals and other aggregates of matter whether in isolation orcombination, which incorporates the concepts of energy and entropy in relation to the spontaneityof chemical processes.Disciplines within chemistry are traditionally grouped by the type of matter being studied or thekind of study. These include inorganic chemistry, the study of inorganic matter; organic chemistry,the study of organic matter; biochemistry, the study of substances found in biological organisms;physical chemistry, the energy related studies of chemical systems at macro, molecular and sub-molecular scales; analytical chemistry, the analysis of material samples to gain an understanding oftheir chemical composition and structure.The genesis of chemistry can be traced to the widely observed phenomenon of burning that led tometallurgy—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 theunderlying 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 fortransforming cheaper (base) metals into gold. This gave way to alchemy and the search for thePhilosopher's Stone which was believed to bring about such a transformation by mere touch.Look around! How many of the objects in your immediate environment are products of syntheticchemistry? Of course, the answer to this question will depend on where you are. For those,fortunate enough to be trekking through a rain forest in Costa Rica, perhaps the clothes you arewearing and the ink on the pages of this book are the only such products. For the majority, much ofwhat surrounds you is made of a combination of synthetic polymers, usually coloured usingsynthetic dyes made in factories that transform petroleum into the rainbow of colours socharacteristic of contemporary interior design. In many modern environments — the interior of anaeroplane, a train or a car — it is probably easier to try to pick out the few materials that are notsynthetic chemicals (metal, wood, leather, cotton, wool, brick, plaster, etc.) and assume that the restis fabricated from petroleum-based rubbers, plastics or other synthetic polymers. Even naturalmaterials are now usually covered by some synthetic coating, and few paints or lacquers are madeentirely of naturally occurring materials.Whether we like it or not, chemistry has transformed our lives: refining the petrol for our cars,providing the microchips for our computers, and producing medicines for chemotherapy, to cite butthree examples. It would be hard for someone in the industrialized world to imagine a worldwithout the contributions of this particularly productive science. Nevertheless, this claim thatchemistry has transformed our lives — usually accompanied by the implicit message that it haschanged our lives for the better — evokes a cynical response from many people. While we have toaccept the evidence of our own eyes that chemical products are everywhere, and accept that it istoday impossible to close the Pandora’s box that is the synthetic chemical industry, there are manywho suspect it is not an unmitigated good and that those who argue for the positive image of theindustry are not being entirely honest with the public or with themselves.The most sensitive point of criticism for modern chemistry is undoubtedly the issue ofenvironmental pollution. Indeed, chemistry has been implicated either directly or by association inmany of the most prominent cases of industrial pollution. The chemical industry has a long historyof polluting the air, water and soil, which dates back several centuries. Considering only thetwentieth century, it has been responsible for a number of major catastrophes including the mercurypoisoning that killed thousands in Minamata in Japan as well as the escape of deadly gas in
Bhopalin India.
Events like these have turned the chemical industry into an emblem for the relationship ofexploitation that exists between capitalists and labourers, between rich and poor.
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