Brief History Jöns Jacob Berzelius, a physician by trade, first coined the term "organic chemistry" in 1807 for the study of compounds derived from biological sources. Up through the early 19th century, naturalists and scientists observed critical differences between compounds that were derived from living things and those that were not. Chemists of the period noted that there seemed to be an essential yet inexplicable difference between the properties of the two different types of compounds. The vital force theory (sometimes called "vitalism") was therefore proposed (and widely accepted) as a way to explain these differences. Vitalism proposed that there was a something called a "vital force" which existed within organic material but did not exist in any inorganic materials. {text:bookmark-start} {text:bookmark-end} Friedrich Wöhler is widely regarded as a pioneer in organic chemistry as a result of his synthesizing of the biological compound urea (a component of urine in many animals) utilizing what is now called "the Wöhler synthesis." Wöhler mixed silver or lead cyanate with ammonium nitrate; this was supposed to yield ammonium cyanate as a result of an exchange reaction, according to Berzelius's dualism theory. Wöhler, however, discovered that the end product of this reaction is not ammonium cyanate (NH4OCN), an inorganic salt, but urea ((NH2)2CO), a biological compound. (Furthermore, heating ammonium cyanate turns it into urea.) Faced with this result, Berzelius had to concede that (NH2)2CO and NH4OCN were isomers. Until this discovery in the year 1828, it was widely believed by chemists that organic substances could only be formed under the influence of the "vital force" in the bodies of animals and plants. Wöhler's synthesis dramatically proved that view to be false. Organic chemistry focuses on carbon and following movement of the electrons in carbon chains and rings, and also how electrons are shared with other carbon atoms and heteroatoms. Organic chemistry is primarily concerned with the properties of covalent bonds and non-metallic elements, though ions and metals do play critical roles in some reactions. The applications of organic chemistry are myriad, and include all sorts of plastics, dyes, flavorings, scents, detergents, explosives, fuels and many, many other products. Read the ingredient list for almost any kind of food that you eat — or even your shampoo bottle — and you will see the handiwork of organic chemists listed there. {text:bookmark-start} {text:bookmark-end} Major Advances in the Field of Organic Chemistry Of course no description of a text should be without at least a mention of Antoine Laurent Lavoisier.
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Philip G. Fothergill, Historical Aspects of Organic Evolution, pub. 1953 by the Philosophical Library Inc., 15 East 40th Street, New York, NY
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.
and opened doors for later scientists that were in his field of organic synthesis. He was a
The Primordial Soup Hypothesis was proposed by biochemist Alexander Oparin in 1924. He claimed that life started in a warm body of water due to a combination of chemicals which led to form amino acids then to form proteins. The evidence that he used was that organic compounds may have endured a sequence of reactions that created more and more complex molecules. An experiment conducted to test this theory was the Miller-Urey Experiment done by Stanley Miller and Harold Urey.
1. J R Partington, A history of chemistry, volume 3 . London, UK: Macmillan, 1962
The ideal way to approach a question like this is through the means of a random experiment (students randomly selected). In this manner, the study would be subject to as few confounding variables as possible. Secondly, it would be optimal to control for unobservable characteristics such as ability bias and student perception in the study. In turn, this allows us to reduce the error term which could lead to a clearer possible causation as opposed to just correlation. Thirdly, the sample size should be as large as possible while being accompanied by an increase in the scope of comparison from two to four classes. Like in any other experiment, increasing the sample size yields better results that can be applied more universally. Fourthly, the experiment
(bethinking.org) Life demands a certain chemistry. The information that makes up any living being is stored on a long molecule called DNA. (answeringenesis.org) If the laws of chemistry were different life as we know it would not be possible. The question of how the universe came to be as it is and how we as humans came about often resonates deeply, particularly with scientists. Many conversations between scientist Christians and other scientists about God and Christ end up considering biological evolution or the Big Bang. Chemistry’s contribution to the story of our origins the transformation of inanimate matter into the first living organisms is much less well understood than other areas of our origins. However, many parts of the process are increasingly understood and we may eventually know the molecular details of the origin of life. As Christians, we need to think through how we would respond to a developed theory in this area.
Ludwig Mond from Germany was the founder of a British chemical industry and the discoverer of many important chemical processes. Chemical processes was what embryos went through to become people well-adapted to their environment. Without deep study into chemistry, the Brave New World wouldn’t have existed.
Sootin, Harry, and Gustav Schrotter.Robert Boyle : founder of modern chemistry. New York: F. Watts, 1962. Print.
John Needham was a Scottish clergyman who, from 1745 to 1748, attempted to show that there was a life force in the molecules of all inorganic matter that caused spontaneous generation to occur. He went about doing by doing experiments which showed bacteria would form in soups.
The Nobel Prize is a set of annual international awards bestowed in a number of categories by Swedish and Norwegian committees in recognition of academic, cultural and scientific advances. Chemistry is one of the many categories of Nobel Prizes awarded to chemists that have dedicated life changing research in their perspective fields. In 2013, the Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded to three theoretical chemists, Michael Levitt, Martin Karplus, and Arieh Warshe, who developed a multiscale computer to predict complex chemical reactions
The 1800’s was a time of development in science. New and what seemed like crazy ideas were surfacing. These ideas were more easily accepted than in past years. There were new theories such as the Cell Theory by Mathias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann in 1838 (Farah 626) and the Atomic Theory by John Dalton (Farah 628).A little over a decade after the Cell Theory was proposed, Louis Pasteur discovered bacteria in 1850 (Farah 627).
Sazlberg, Hugh W. From Caveman to Chemist: Circumstances and Achievements. Washington, D.C.: American Chemical Society, 1991.
This hypothesis emerged when scientists found organic molecules in meteorites from the universe. Some investigators wondered if the abiotic production of organic materials in the soil was absolutely basic to the origin of life. Maybe some organic materials from elsewhere in the universe had arrived in the early earth.