Concise Dictionary Of Chemistry

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Introduction

What is Chemistry?

Chemistry is the branch of science that deals with the identification of the substances of which matter is composed; the investigation of their properties and the ways in which they interact, combine, and change; and the use of these processes to form new substances.

Why is the study of Chemistry Important?

Chemistry has a reputation for being a complicated and boring science, but for the most part, that reputation is undeserved. Fireworks and explosions are based on chemistry, so it's definitely not a boring science. If we take classes in chemistry, we'll apply math and logic, which can make studying chemistry a challenge if we are weak in those areas. However, anyone can understand the basics of how things work, and that's the study of chemistry. In a nutshell, the importance of chemistry is that it explains the world around us.

Everyone can and should understand basic chemistry, but it may be important to take a course in chemistry or even make a career out of it. It's important to understand chemistry if we are studying any of the sciences because all of the sciences involve matter and the interactions between types of matter. Students wishing to become doctors, nurses, physicists, nutritionists, geologists, pharmacists, and (of course) chemists all study chemistry. We might want to make a career of chemistry because chemistry-related jobs are plentiful and high-paying. The importance of chemistry won't be diminished over time, so it will remain a promising career path.

How is Chemistry Classified?

Chemistry deals with the structure and composition of matter and the chemical reactions that are responsible for changing the state and properties of matter. Chemistry is the science of atoms, molecules, crystals and other aggregates of matter and the chemical processes that change their energy and entropy levels as also their structure and composition. Chemistry has been sub-divided into distinct disciplines that deal with specific branches of chemistry. The different branches deal with different aspects of the study of matter. Take a look at them:

Organic Chemistry: This branch of chemistry deals with the study of the organic matter. The substances that primarily consist of carbon (C) and hydrogen (H) are termed as organic. The discipline that deals with the study of the structure, composition and the chemical properties of organic compounds is known as organic chemistry. This branch also deals with the chemical reactions that are used in the preparation of organic chemical compounds.

Inorganic Chemistry: It is the branch of chemistry that relates to the structure, composition and behaviour of inorganic compounds. All the substances other than the carbon-hydrogen compounds are classified under the group of inorganic substances. Oxides, sulphides and carbonates form the important classes of inorganic compounds. Industrial inorganic chemistry deals with the branch of applied science such as the manufacture of fertilizers, while the descriptive inorganic chemistry deals with the classification of compounds based on their properties.

Analytical Chemistry: This is a very important branch of chemistry that deals with the analysis of the chemical properties of natural and man-made materials. The study does not restrict itself to any particular type of chemical compounds. Instrumental analysis is a prominent part of modern analytical chemistry. Analytical chemistry primarily deals with the study of the chemicals present in a substance, in what quantity they are, and how they define the chemical properties of the substance.

Physical Chemistry: This branch of chemistry applies the theories of physics to atoms and subatomic particles. When physical chemistry is applied to the chemical interaction between atoms and subatomic particles, the study is known by the name, quantum mechanics. It is a relatively vast field that deals with intermolecular forces, rates of chemical reactions as well the conductivity of different materials.

Biochemistry: This discipline of chemistry represents a peep of biology into chemistry. It deals with the structure and behaviour of the components of cells and the chemical processes in living beings. The complex and large bio-molecules are usually composed of similar units that repeat. The complex molecules are known as polymers and the basic units they are composed of are known as monomers. Biochemistry deals with the study of cellular constituents like proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids as also the chemical processes that occur in cells.

Nuclear Chemistry: It is a popular and one of the very important branches of chemistry that studies radioactivity. It revolves around the study of the nuclear properties of and the chemical processes in radioactive substances. This branch also covers the study of the equipment used for the performance of nuclear processes. The effects of the absorption of radiation, the production and use of radioactive materials and radiotherapy come under this branch of chemistry. Nuclear chemistry also deals with the non-radioactive areas of life.

Chemistry is a very vast subject as it delves into the enormity of the universe. While dealing with the study of the structure and behaviour of matter, it makes an attempt to encompass the study of the fundamental units that make up the universe.

Chemistry in Everyday Life

Chemistry is important in our day-to-day life. See how:

Cooking – Chemistry explains how food changes as we cook it, how to preserve food, how it rots, how our body uses the food we eat, and how ingredients interact to make food.

Cleaning – A very significant Part of the importance of chemistry is it explains how cleaning works. We use chemistry to help decide what cleaner is best for dishes, laundry, ourselves, and our home. We use chemistry when we use bleaches and disinfectants and even ordinary soap and water. How do they work? That's chemistry!

Medicine – We need to understand basic chemistry so that we understand how vitamins, supplements, and drugs can help or harm us. A substantial part of the importance of chemistry lies in developing and testing new medical treatments and medicines.

Environment – Chemistry is at the heart of environmental issues. What makes one chemical a nutrient and another chemical a pollutant? How can we clean up the environment? What processes can produce things we need without harming the environment?

We're all self-proclaimed chemists. We use chemicals every day and perform chemical reactions without thinking much about them. Chemistry is important because everything we do is chemistry! Even our body is made of chemicals. Chemical reactions occur when we breathe, eat, or just sit there reading. All matter is made of chemicals, so the importance of chemistry is that it's the study of everything.

Great Chemists of All-time

Dmitri Mendeleyev (Russian) – Mendeleyev devised the Periodic table of elements. He predicted that several more elements would be discovered.

Antoine Lavoisier (French) – Lavoisier showed that air is a mixture of oxygen (O) and nitrogen (H). He disproved the old Theory of phlogiston and determined the nature of combustion. Lavoisier wrote the first modern book on chemistry and explained the law of conservation of matter.

Henry Cavendish (British) – Cavendish showed that water could be produced from two gases and discovered hydrogen.

Amedeo Avogadro (Italian) – Avogadro is the first to distinguish molecules from atoms. He developed Avogadro's Constant (The number of particles of a substance in a mole). He also studied the effect of combining volumes.

Jons Jakob Berzelius (Swedish) – Berzelius developed symbols for many of the chemicals. He calculated the atomic weights accurately of many of them and discovered Selenium, Silicon and Thorium.

John Dalton (British) – Dalton developed an atomic theory of matter and explained the laws of partial pressure.

Robert Boyle (Irish) – Boyle studied gases and showed how pressure and volume at constant mass were indirectly proportional to one another.

Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac and Jacques Charles (Both French) – Studied gases and showed that gas volume at constant pressure increases with temperature.

Friederich Wöhler (German) – Friederich Wöhler is considered as the father of Organic Chemistry. He was the first chemist to synthesise an organic compound, Urea.

Carl Scheele (Swedish) – Carl Scheele was co-discover of oxygen (O) with Joseph Priestley. He also discovered chlorine, manganese and molybdenum.

Marie Curie (Polish) – He isolated radioactive elements radium and polonium.

Josiah Gibbs (American) – Founder of Chemical Thermodynamics.

Jacobus van't Hoff (Dutch) – He was one of the earlier chemists to speak about the 3-D nature of molecules.

Frederick Sanger (British) – Sanger revealed the Amino sequence for insulin. He worked out methods for determining the molecular structure of nucleic acids. He was two time Nobel Prize winner.

Humphry Davy (British) – He showed the connection between electrochemistry and the elements. He discovered the elements Potassium, Sodium, Barium, Calcium and Magnesium amongst others.

Joseph Priestley (English) – Oxygen co-discoverer.

Henri Le Chatelier (French) – Chatelier developed the principle that every change in a stable chemical equilibrium will result in a shift in the direction of the equilibrium to reduce the effects of the change.

Frederick Soddy (British) – Introduced the isotope theory of elements.

Svante Arrhenius (Sweden) – Established modern electrochemistry.

Germain Hess (Swiss/Russian) – Introduced Hess's Law for determining the heat of reactions.

Wilhelm Ostwald (Latvian) – Discovered Dilution law. He also invented process to make nitric acid by oxidising ammonia. He also developed a theory of colour.

Daniel Rutherford (Scottish) – Discoverer of Nitrogen.

Friederich Kekulé (German) – Kekulé was an organic chemist. He described the ring structure of benzene.

Stanislao Cannizzaro (Italian) – Cannizzaro established the use of Atomic weights in Chemical formulas and calculations.

Linus Pauling (American) – Pauling applied Quantum Theory to determine Chemical Structure (especially of proteins). He also showed how electrons effect the formation of molecules.

Johannes Brønsted Danish and Thomas Lowry (British) – Independently introduced the Brønsted-Lowry definition of an acid as something that donates a proton and a base as something that accepts a proton.

Leo Baekland (Belgian/American) – Father of the Plastics Industry.

William Ramsay (Scottish) – Co-discovered Argon with Lord Rayleigh. Ramsay was the first to identify Helium, Neon, Krypton and Xenon.

Henri Moissan (French) – Moissan isolated fluorine. He invented the electric furnace and also discovered Carborundum and produced artificial diamonds in a laboratory.

Theodore Richards (American) – Richards performed extensive work on atomic weights to reveal the existence of isotopes.

Dorothy Hodgkin (British) – Crystallographer. He used x-ray crystallography to reveal the structure of such molecules as penicillin and insulin.

Thomas Graham (Scottish) – He developed Graham's Law of Diffusion. He was the founder of Colloidal Chemistry.

Fritz Haber (German) – He invented the process to make ammonia from nitrogen in the air known as the Haber process. His invention allowed Germany to continue making explosives after the World War I ban in spite of the blockade on the importation of nitrates.

Irving Langmuir (American) – Langmuir was a High Temperature chemist. His works led to the development of the tungsten lamp. He also studied gases. Research in this field would have practical implications with respect to the use of atomic hydrogen in welding torches.

Peter Debye (Dutch) – Worked on molecular structure. He pioneered x-ray powder photography.

Harold Urey (American) – Harold isolated Heavy water and discovered deuterium.

Paul Flory (American) – Paul Flory was a leading figure in the field of Polymerisation. He also studied properties of plastics, rubbers and fibres.

William Perkin (British) – Perkin was noted for his work on dyes. He also invented mauve.

George Washington Carver (American) – Agricultural chemist. His research involved the synthesis of products from peanuts, sweet potatoes and soybeans.

François Raoult (French) – Raoult developed the law which relates vapour pressure of a solution to the number of molecules of solute dissolved in it.

Future of Chemistry

As chemists, biologists and other scientists continue to unveil nature's secrets, a flood of facts accumulates with stunning momentum. Each answer is a new beginning – material for new experiments. After much effort was spent in the last century finding individual puzzle pieces, scientists can now revel in the process of fitting the pieces together.

Not that everything has been figured out – not by a long shot. Perhaps ironically, as science grows larger in scope and broader in focus, some of the most promising tools to synthesise the hows, whats, and wheres of human biology are exceedingly tiny.

Unravelling – and making sense of – different components of chemistry that aid the genetic instructions that spell life for organisms as diverse as flies, plants, worms, and people have sparked the most exciting revolution. Every minute of every day, scientists all over the world work feverishly, weaving a compelling tale of the chemistry that underlies our health.

It's all very exciting, but the progress mandates still more work. Much more work!

Among the questions still awaiting answers are these:

How to synthesise foods that feed the growing number of people?

How to manufacture clothes that clean themselves automatically?

How to prevent ageing?

How to produce medicines that prevent sickness?

How to keep our brain alert for all-time?

How to convert bacteria to our benefit?

How do the 6-foot long stretches of DNA in every cell in our bodies know how to keep our biochemical factories running smoothly?

When will someone figure out how to fight disease by manipulating the intricate sugar coatings on our cells?

Who will invent the tools that will revolutionise chemistry labs of the future?

What unexpected places hold treasure troves for new medicines?

A

Abatement

Action taken to reduce air pollution which involves the use of control equipment or some new process. This refers to a reduction or lessening as opposed to elimination of a type of discharge or pollutant.

Ablation

The weathering of a glacier by surface melting, or rock weathering by hydraulic erosion.

Abrasion

The susceptibility of the surface of a paper sample to being abraded during a standard test.

The tendency of papermaking materials to abrade slitter knives, dies, etc.

Absolute density

The absolute density is a measure of the mass of one millilitre of gas at standard temperature and pressure.

Absolute zero

Absolute zero is the theoretical temperature of -273.16°C or -459.67°F or 0 k at which entropy reaches its minimum value. The laws of thermodynamics state that absolute zero cannot be reached using only thermodynamic means. A system at absolute zero still possesses quantum mechanical zero-point energy, the energy of its ground state. The kinetic energy of the ground state cannot be removed. However, in the classical interpretation it is zero and the thermal energy of matter vanishes. The zero point of any thermodynamic temperature scale, such as Kelvin or Rankine, is set at absolute zero.

Absolute Zero

Thermometers compare Fahrenheit

Celsius and Kelvin scales

Absorbance

The logarithm (must be specified as to base 10, lg, or base e, ln) of the reciprocal of transmittance [ln (Io/It) or lg (Io/It)], where Io and It are the monochromatic radiances (intensities) of light incident on and transmitted through, respectively, a sample which is usually contained in a sample cell.

Absorber

A device used commonly for sampling by absorption in which a gaseous or liquid material is removed from another gas or liquid by selective absorption; these include: scrubber, impinger, packed column, spray chamber, etc. A substance used to absorb energy form any type of radiation.

Absorption

The process of one material (absorbent) being retained by another (absorbate); this may be the physical solution of a gas, liquid, or solid in a liquid, attachment of molecules of a gas, vapour, liquid, or dissolved substance to a solid surface by physical forces, etc. In spectrophotometry, absorption of light at characteristic wavelengths or bands of wavelengths is used to identify the chemical nature of molecules, atoms or ions and to measure the concentrations of these species. The transfer of a component from one phase to another.

Absorption cross section

A measurement of an atom or molecule's ability to absorb light at a specified wavelength, measured in square cm/particle.

Absorption line

A narrow range of wavelengths in which a substance absorbs light; a series of discrete absorption lines can be used as an unambiguous identification for many relatively simple chemical species.

Abstraction reaction

A reaction that takes any atom away from another chemical species. Classical examples in atmospheric chemistry are the gas phase removal of hydrogen from methane by hydroxyl radical or the following solution phase reaction:

HSO3 + H2O2 → HSO4− + H2O

Acceleration

Measure of how fast velocity is changing, so we can think of it as the change in velocity over change in time. The most common use of acceleration is acceleration due to gravity, which can also appear as the gravitational constant (9.8 m/s²).

Accommodation coefficient

Also sticking coefficient. A measure of the efficiency of capture of molecules or atoms which collide with aerosol particles, cloud droplets, etc. The accommodation coefficient is the fraction of the collisions which result in the capture of the molecules (atoms, radicals, etc.) by the particle, cloud droplet, etc., fraction of colliding molecules which are not reflected but which enter the surface of an aqueous aerosol.

Accretion

The process by which aerosols grow in size by external addition of various chemical species; a form of agglomeration.

Accumulation mode particles

(Also known as secondary particles) These are particles that are formed in the atmosphere due to both the chemical and physical processes that take place with the interactions of primary gaseous emissions. The primary gaseous emissions are injected into the atmosphere by combustion processes such as from a car or from a coal burning plant.

Accuracy

An indication of how close a measurement is to its accepted value.

Acetal

Acetal is an organic compound, pleasant smelling, formed by addition of ethyl alcohol to ethanal (acetaldehyde). It is used as a solvent and in synthetic organic chemistry. Acetals are used as protecting groups for carbonyl groups in organic synthesis as they are stable with respect to hydrolysis by bases and with respect to many oxidizing and reducing agents.

Acetaldehyde

CH3CHO, a fairly simple aldehyde (second in the analogous series after formaldehyde) that is found in the atmosphere as a result of emissions from the manufacture of acetic acid, plastics, raw materials, and as a product in some polluted air oxidation reactions, for instance, acetaldehyde is found in urban air all over the world. Also called Ethanal.

Acetic acid

CH3COOH, a carbonyl compound that is emitted into the troposphere by both natural and anthropogenic processes. In the troposphere, acetic acid is present in the gas phase and is highly water soluble. Since acetic acid is highly water soluble, it is found in high concentration as acidic precipitation, such as in fog water and cloud droplets in urban areas. Also known as Ethanoic Acid.

Acetone

CH3COCH3, a carbonyl compound that is found in the atmosphere as a reactive gas. Acetone is considered to be a volatile organic compound (VOC), which is emitted into the atmosphere by industrial processes. Acetone has been linked to the formation of ozone in the troposphere due to the fact that it is a source of free radicals. Also known as Propanone.

Acetyl

A functional group with chemical formula -COCH3.

Achiral

A group containing atleast two identical substituents.

Acicular

Another word for needle-shaped, as in the case of aragonite calcium carbonate particles.

Acicular habit

An acicular habit describes the shape of a large crystal that looks like spikes coming out from one point. Think about those koosh balls for this example.

Acid

A species which reacts in liquid water to generate hydrogen ions (conventionally represented as cations H+ or hydronium, H3O+); anions (e.g., sulphate, SO4²−; nitrate, NO3−) which were associated with the H+ in the acid are also released. Important acids in the atmosphere include sulphuric acid (H2SO4), nitric acid (HNO3), and organic acids (e.g., formic acid, HCO2H; acetic acid, CH3CO2H, etc.).

Brønsted acid—A molecular entity capable of donating a proton to a base, (i.e. a proton donor) or the corresponding chemical species. For example: H2O, H3O+, CH3CO2H, H2SO4, HSO4−.

Lewis acid—A molecular entity (and the corresponding chemical species) that is an electron-pair acceptor and therefore able to react with a Lewis base to form a Lewis adduct, by sharing the electron pair furnished by the Lewis base.

Acid alum

A mixture of aluminium sulphate (papermaker's alum) and sulphuric acid.

Acid anhydride

Hydrocarbon containing two carbonyl groups.Acyl group attached with carboxylate group.eg- RCOOCOR’

Acid deposition

A broad term that includes any forms of acids that accumulate in the atmosphere, for instance, acid rain, fog, haze. The term can be used to explain the long term effects of these events on the environment as well as the main causes of acid rain, fog or haze. The term functions as a category that any aspect of anthropogenic acid in the environment can be placed.

Acid halide

Acyl group with any halogen attached with carbon of carbonyl group.eg.- RCO-X (X= F,Cl,Br,I).

Acid rain

Acidified particulate matter in the atmosphere that is deposited by precipitation onto a surface, often eroding the surface away. This precipitation generally has a pH less than 5 and sometimes much lower depending on the concentration of acidic components.

Acid-base indicator

A dye that changes colours under different conditions of pH Values.

Acid-base titration

The procedure used to determine the concentration of an acid or base involving the gradual addition of either an acid or base.

Acidic

Describes a solution with a high concentration of H+ ions.

Acidic paper making

Forming paper from stock that has a pH value usually in the range of 3.5 to 6.5, and usually in the presence of aluminium species, e.g. alum.

Acidification

In the gas phase this process happens when compounds like nitrogen oxides and sulphur oxides are converted in a chemical reaction in the gas phase or in clouds into acidic substances. These acids are rained-out or dry deposited. Significant amounts of the compounds containing nitrogen and sulphur are a direct result of anthropogenic activity. An example reaction that takes place in soil occurs from the oxidation of reduced sulphur (for instance, pyrite) exposed during, for instance, strip mining of lignite. This can be represented as:

2FeS2 + 6H2O + 7O2 =

4SO4²−+ 8H+ + 2Fe(OH)2

Acidity

Ability of an aqueous sample to contribute hydrogen ions during a titration with base.

Acid-pulse (dry deposition)

Deposit of powder-like substance over the ground surface; especially effecting plant leaves; that when contacted by water has a very low pH.

Acrolein (CH2CHCHO)

The simplest double-bonded aldehyde, produced in urban smog, contributing greatly to eye and lung irritation. It is a constituent of internal combustion engine exhaust, cigarette smoke, and biomass burning, and from the incomplete combustion of plastics and fuels. Also called Propenal.

Acrylic acid

Acrylic acid (propenoic acid) is a colourless liquid, smelling like acetic acid. It can be formed by acrolein oxidation. It readily polymerizes and is used in the manufacture of acrylic resins, transparent plastic materials (organic glass).

Actinide series

The actinide series is one of two series of inner transition elements. Elements 89 through 103 are a part of this series. The elements include uranium, berkelium, and nobelium.

Actinium

Symbol: Ac Atomic Number: 89 Atomic Mass: 227.03amu. It is one of the elements in the actinide series of inner transition elements. It may also be classified as a rare earth element. Actinium is the first element of the actinide series. It is used as a source of neutrons in experiments that involve radioactivity. You will not find the element in regular use anywhere in the natural world.

Activated charcoal

Activated charcoal or activated carbon is charcoal that has been activated for adsorption by steaming or by heating in a vacuum. Charcoal is obtained by burning wood, nutshells, coconut husks or other materials. Charcoal becomes activated by heating it with steam to approximately 1000 °C in the absence of oxygen. The chemical nature of amorphous carbon, combined with a high surface area makes it an ideal medium for the adsorption of organic chemicals. A single gram of such material can have 400 m² to 1 200 m² square meters of surface area. Activated charcoal is widely used to decolourize liquids, recover solvents, and remove toxins from water and air.

Activated complex

An unstable, short-lived particle formed as the result of a collision of particles in a chemical reaction. The activated complex is located at the top of a potential energy diagram. Bonds are in the process of both being formed and being broken.

Activating group

Any group which activate any molecule by increasing positive or negative charge on carbon atom.Mainly towards neucleophilic or electrophilic substitution reactions.

Activation energy

When reactions proceed, a certain amount of energy is needed for the whole process to begin. The energy needed to get the reaction started (get it over the hump) is called the activation energy. The energy required to start a chemical reaction. If a reaction is not spontaneous, it requires a specific amount of energy to proceed. That required energy is the activation energy. Enzymes and catalysts can decrease the activation energy of a reaction.

Active chlorine

Active chlorine can be a single chlorine atom that is a radical (Cl dot) and therefore highly reactive. It can also be a molecule containing chlorine that is reactive (ClO). Active chlorine's most notable role in atmospheric chemistry is in catalytic destruction of ozone in the stratosphere and the accumulation of active chlorine at the earth's polar stratosphere during the polar night that leads to major ozone hole formation during the spring.

Active transport

Active transport is the carriage of a solute across a biological membrane from low to high concentration that requires the expenditure of (metabolic) energy.

Activity series

a list of metals and hydrogen arranged in order of their chemical reactivity, such that any element in the series will displace ions of the elements below it from aqueous solutions of their salts.

Activity series of metals

A list of metals arranged in decreasing order of chemical reactivity. Very active metals react with water. Active metals react with acids. Least reactive metals do not react with acids.

Acyl group

A group having alkyl or aryl group with a carbonyl group RCO-

Adam's catalyst

A catalyst for hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis in organic synthesis. Also known as platinum dioxide

Addition reaction

A reaction where a product is created from the coming together of 2 reactants.

Additivity principle

The hypothesis that each of several structural features of a molecular entity makes a separate and additive contribution to a property of the substance concerned. More specifically, it is the hypothesis that each of the several substituent groups in a parent molecule makes a separate and additive contribution to the standard Gibbs energy change (or Gibbs energy of activation) corresponding to a particular equilibrium (or rate of reaction).

Address-message concept

Address-message concept refers to compounds in which part of the molecule is required for binding (address) and part for the biological action (message).

Adduct

A new chemical species AB, each molecular entity of which is formed by direct combination of two separate molecular entities A and B in such a way that there is change