Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
short essay on history of chemistry
essay about modern history of chemistry
chemistry before and after scientific revolution
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: short essay on history of chemistry
This paper will be meant to discuss the world before and after the discovery of chemistry and how it came about. The main topic of this essay is on the history of chemistry and its impacts on our everyday lives. You may sit there and ask yourself, “What will I ever do with chemistry in my everyday life?” Truthfully from my standpoint I have come to realize that chemistry is a very important part of our everyday lives. The process in you breathing and how the oxygen is converted to carbon dioxide and then how the plants go through photosynthesis and then produce oxygen for us to breathe and live longer. Although some of this may seem simple, most of it truly is simple. You just have to put a little bit of thought into it.
Before the discovery of chemistry the Periodic Table of Elements was never formed so we had no idea what the world was made of or even what the air we breathe every day is made of. According to University of Columbia’s website ( http://www.columbia.edu/itc/chemistry/chem-c2507/navbar/chemhist.html ) the first every recorded history of the discovery of chemistry is back in 1700 BC. The discovery was that, “Known metals were recorded and listed in conjunction with heavenly bodies.” Such a discovery blew people’s minds, because who on Earth could ever even fathom such a thought or an assumption like that. The only thing is that this was all the way back in the prehistoric times before we had any technology at all when we progress to the 1780’s AD when inventions were bringing in major results such as Mendeleev’s theory of the Periodic Table of Elements.
Natural resources back then definitely were slowing down the processes of discovering new materials and elements. Back when we had no technology at all really, ...
... middle of paper ...
...d utterly amazing. Who would have even imagined back in the ‘20’s that we would have television or hopefully one day a cure for all cancer.
This paper was meant to discuss the History of Chemistry and how it has affected us now and how it has changed us from the past. Advances in modern chemistry have brought us to a whole new level of inventions and discoveries. All of the examples above are great to look over and just ponder over their true greatness. I guess the true test of our society is will we put these advances to a good cause or will we use them for the evil that could come? Every single day you take in a breath and you look around and see the leaves changing, you are witnessing chemistry at its best. Soon one day there will be a perfect world or even worlds if your technology will provide us. Thank you for taking time out of your day to read this essay.
To begin with, the authors, Larry Gonick and Craig Criddle, as I alluded to earlier, have written this book to consist of varying subjects and topics all underneath the umbrella that is chemistry. The twelve key subjects covered are hidden ingredients (basically properties and elements), matter becoming electric and their relation to electrons, togetherness and atomic structure, chemical reactions, heat of reaction, matter in a state (solid, liquid, gas) , solutions, reaction rate and equilibrium, acid basics, chemical thermodynamics, electrochemistry, organic chemistry, and using logarithms. Overall each subject is covered equally in depth and some subjects build upon each other while some don’t. There isn’t a specific author’s purpose rather than to educate the reader. However the subjects that constantly return and are tied in with each chapter are the history of chemistry and how chemical principles were discovered. These repeating subjects also show us applications of chemistry in the real world and the importance of chemistry in our lives. In general the book trudges through subjects...
Dmitri Mendeleev, a Russian scientist, is said to be the father of the periodic table. In 1947 Mendeleev, while working on a textbook, began to organise the 63 elements that were known at the time in groups that displayed similar properties. Mendeleev found it difficult to classify certain alkali metals and metals, and while trying to find a way to classify them he began to notice that the properties and atomic weights of halogens and alkali metals shared similar patterns. He then began to investigate extensions of these patterns within the other elements. Mendeleev created a card for each of the known elements that sh...
Throughout history, the curiosities of obtaining knowledge of facts that show the operation of general laws have resulted into the improvements of today’s society. Such curiosity of chemical reactions coiled in the minds of John Dalton in the atomic theory, Rosalind Franklin with genetics, and most importantly Antoine Lavoisier the father of modern chemistry. All who, worked extensively to acquire the understanding that fascinated them most, chemistry. Another chemist who sought after the same knowledge was Stanislao Cannizzaro. Studying organic chemistry Cannizzaro explained how certain elements lacked the hydrogen atom in what is know n as the Cannizzaro Reaction.
In life and society as most of you know, chemistry is involved in everything in this entire world including; animals, plants, and even food! Although most people don’t like chemistry due to all the equations and “Stoichiometry”, it plays a significant role in everyday life. Thanks to many scientists in the past, we can now use the knowledge of their theories and postulates to find new technology and other scientific advancements to help the evolvement of many organisms in this world.
1. J R Partington, A history of chemistry, volume 3 . London, UK: Macmillan, 1962
Chemists are the specialists in chemistry, that interact with chemical properties, and reactions. The earth is made up of different gases. Some of this gases are needed for life in the planet but other gases can be harmful to the living. Gas’s use in regular quantities are favorable to the earth. The world started to become more advance and had to use more of this gases to produce everyday objects and inventions by men. Little did we knew this chemicals we going to affect us in our life. Chemist Jose Mario Molina actually discovered that chlorofluorocarbons were affecting the ozone layer.
In chemistry, we calculate and measure substance to use them in all kind of substance and form every day. It is everywhere in our lives. We use it in all we do, such as cooking cleaning, eating, even in our work force and home. The texts states: (quote) that fuel in our cars with oxygen to make the car move and run, when we cook our food or bleach our hair, chemical reactions take place. (Timberlake, K. C., 01/2014, pg. 211).
The book’s main thesis statement and author’s main point was all focus on how, what, and why the seventeen changed the course of history and still continue in effect. The author is trying to tell us that not only human interaction alters the history, but it also involved chemistry and science: 17 unique molecules. These molecules provided the foundation for early exploration, and made possible many voyages of discovery successful. Spurred advances in many different fields of study and great knowledge poured into the world by the discovery of these molecules; they determined the world we live in right now. Some great historical shifts can result from even a change as small as the position of an atom can lead to enormous differences in the properties of a substance. Like the failure of Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, because of the button that French soldiers...
Chemistry is a branch of natural science that deals principally with the properties of substances, the changes they undergo, and the natural laws that describe these changes. (University of Idaho, 2014) Molecules, as small as they seem, is in the food that we eat and present in our daily lives. Today, scientists would likely know about the history of chemistry but not how chemistry has impacted history. Many would not wonder if these molecules go beyond the chemistry concepts that they have learned. For example, would the world have been different if piperine (molecule) present in pepper had not led to the discovery of the United States? The interesting fact is that molecules have and will continue to shape the world today. In this book, the authors explain in detail how 17 specific molecules had a significant impact on the history of the world. On a whole, this book is very intriguing and very suitable for chemistry lovers as well as the general public.
The earliest knowledge of chemistry was in 3500 B.C in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Chemistry was concerned anything that was pottery, dyes or crafts that were developed but not considerable skills because no one truly understood its purpose. The basic idea of elements or compounds were first formulated by Greek philosopher during 500 to 300 B.C when people believed fire , water, earth, and air combined to form all living and non-living things. In the beginning of Christianity an ancient Egyptian and Greek philosopher were fused into the new ideas of science, starting with little experiments such as turning metal into gold or imitation of precious gems. Later on people such as Robert Boyle, Robert Hooke and John Mayow were just the few people who discovered specific things in history.
Chemistry has been around for a very long time. Chemistry is the branch of physical science that studies composition, properties, energy, and behavior of matter. It is said that chemistry has been around since prehistoric times. This was in the form of everyday objects like pottery, cosmetics and perfumes, and extracting metals from ores. Chemistry is based on the discovery and study of elements. Some elements were known to ancient man, but most were discovered by chemists and alchemists. Some say that chemistry started in the early Stone Age when man made fire. Chemistry is the study of chemical composition and properties of matter and the reactions of that matter. The study of any living thing involves chemistry.
While researching the greatest chemists that have ever lived, I could not help but notice one who was missing from the list. Boyle, Mendeleev, and Lavoisier were on everyone’s list; and rightfully so, but I believe that people overlook the outstanding work of Henry Louis Le Chatelier. Le Chatelier studied chemistry extensively in school and made great discoveries as a teacher of the science at colleges in France. He is most known for the principle named after him: Le Chatelier’s Principle, which I will go into detail with later in the paper. My goal in this paper is to bring to light the significance of Le Chatelier’s life and his work in the field of chemistry and science.
We see our modern world filled with so many advances with technology and science. We usually do not think about science when using a smart phone or google to find information with one click of a button. Do we think about Chemistry when taking an antibiotic medication for an infection? Just about everything involves science and technology, but what would happen if one scientist didn’t discover one theory, a theory that can alter our advance society as we know today. This one man was credit as the founder of chemistry. Chemistry is a branch of physical science that studies the composition, structure, properties and change of matter. Chemistry is chiefly concerned with atoms and molecules and their
Because other metals were thought to be less perfect than gold, it was reasonable to believe that nature created gold out of other metals found deep within the earth and that a skilled artisan could duplicate this process. It was said that once someone was able to change, or transmute a "base" chemical into the perfect metal, gold, they would have achieved eternal life and salvation. In this way, alchemy turned into not only a scientific quest, but a spiritual quest as well. Although the purposes and techniques were often times ritualistic and fanciful, alchemy was in many ways the predecessor of modern science, especially the science of chemistry.The birthplace of alchemy was ancient Egypt, where, in Alexandria, it began to flourish during the Hellenistic period. Also at that time, a school of alchemy was developing in China.
Though many people fail to realize it, chemistry is a subject essential to everyday life, due to the fact that it is the branch of science that deals with the identification of the substances of which matter is composed. But what we must understand is that everything in the universe is composed of matter, hence chemistry is necessary in learning more about the world and universe that we live in. There are many careers and fields affiliated with chemistry that people pursue to learn more about the composition of the universe, but for now, let us examine the logistics of three of these careers. These three careers involving chemistry are geochemistry, environmental chemistry, and chemical engineering.