Chemistry
From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science
Chemistry is the branch of science concerned with the composition, properties, and structure of matter, and how different substances react together. It is the study of the changes that matter undergoes to either gain knowledge, as in 'pure chemistry', or to apply it to a specific goal, as in 'applied chemistry'. (Wilbraham, pg 9)
There are five traditional areas of study in chemistry. They include organic, inorganic, biochemistry, analytical, and physical. There are a number of Creation scientists involved in each of the different areas of study. One of the founding fathers of chemistry was creationist Robert Boyle to whom modern chemistry owes enormous gratitude for his work, writings, and research. Boyle loved God’s truth, which helped him see the grand errors of alchemical theory that were hindering the development of what is now scientific chemistry.
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Organic Chemistry
Organic chemistry is the study of the properties of the compounds of carbon that are organic. (All organic compounds contain carbon, but some carbon compounds, like carbon dioxide, are considered inorganic because they do not contain single chemical bonds between carbon and hydrogen.) Although there are specific areas of study that certain scientists choose to work in, the boundaries between the five main areas are not stable. Many times, a scientist will jump into one form of study to solve a problem in another. Many organic chemists use analytical chemistry to determine the composition of an organic chemical.
Inorganic Chemistry
Inorganic chemistry puts emphasis on the study of synthesis, structure, thermodynamics, reactivity, spectroscopy, and bonding properties of compounds. In general, it is the study of chemicals that do not contain carbon. Inorganic chemicals are found in non-living things like rocks and minerals.[1]
This field covers all chemical compounds except the organic compounds containing C-H bonds. Those are subjects of organic chemistry. Although the two areas of study are supposed to be opposite, the studies sometimes overlap.[2]
The classes of inorganic compounds are the oxides, the carbonates, the sulfates and the halides. They in general have high melting points, and are not good conductors in the solid state.
Biochemistry
Biochemistry is the study of the chemicals of living systems and their interactions. It deals with the structure and function of cellular components, such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, and other biomolecules. Biochemistry studies the chemical properties of important biological molecules, in particular the chemistry of enzyme-catalyzed reactions.
Some areas of biochemistry include the genetic code, protein synthesis, cell membrane transport, and signal transduction. A large study has been on cell metabolism and the endocrine system. They have been discribed in great detail.[3]
History
Before major study was done in biochemistry, it was generally believed that life did not follow the laws of science the way non-living things did. It was thought that only living beings could produce living molecules, but that thought changed in 1828 when a German chemist named Friedrich Wöhler (1810-1882) published a paper on the synthesis of urea. It proved that organic compounds could be created artificially. Urea synthesis was very important for biochemistry because it showed that a compound known to be produced only by biological organisms could be produced in a laboratory, under controlled conditions, from matter that wasn't alive. He was originally studying organic chemistry, but his pioneering greatly impacted the study of biochemistry.[4]
Analytical Chemistry
Analytical chemistry is the area of study that leans toward gaining knowledge of the composition of different kinds of matter. Unlike other areas of study like inorganic chemistry and organic chemistry, analytical chemistry is not restricted to any particular type of chemical compound or reaction. Properties studied in analytical chemistry include molecular morphologies, distributions of species, and composition and species identity.
This area of science asks alot of questions. But the study generally ends once the questions have been answered. Analytical chemistry generally does not attempt to use chemistry or understand its basis, but it has had many outgrowths of discoveries after the "questions" were answered. A common question that a scientist in analytical chemistry would ask would be, "How much lead is in drinking water?"[5]
Physical Chemistry
Physical chemistry uses physics to study macroscopic, microscopic, atomic, subatomic, and particulate phenomena in chemical systems. It traditionally uses the principles, practices and concepts of thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mechanics, and kinetics.[6] It is the area that deals with the mechanism, the energy transfer, and the rate of matter as it is changing.
For example, a physical chemist might study factors that affect breathing rates during exercise. It is the goal of physical chemists to develop an understanding at the molecular and atomic level of how chemical reactions occur and materials behave. This kind of knowledge is essential to all areas of chemistry. After being asked how to describe what physical chemistry is like, Gilbert Newton Lewis, a well-known scientist said, "Physical chemistry is everything that is interesting!"[7]
Nuclear Chemistry
- Main Article: Nuclear Chemistry
Nuclear chemistry is a subfield of chemistry dealing with radioactivity, nuclear processes and nuclear properties. Of particular interest are the process involved with the splitting and combining of atoms to make new substances and energy.
Christian scientist: Robert Boyle
- Main Article: Robert Boyle
Robert Boyle was a devout Christian who contributed much to the study of chemistry and is considered by many as the "father of modern chemistry". During the time when alchemy was very popular he made great advances in chemistry, and praised God for every discovery he made.
Some of his major contributions were:
- He made a vacuum pump that he used to prove that air was important to transmit sound.
- He made the formulation of his gas law (called Boyle's law) which says that if the temperature is constant, pressure is inversely proportional to volume. (That means: as pressure increases, volume of a gas decreases and vice-versa.)
- He changed the way the modern world thought about chemical elements (that they are the smallest part of a substance that cannot be separated into simpler substances).
- He created the scientific method.
- He helped others understand the difference between compounds and mixtures.
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References
- ↑ Eisenberg, Robert, ed. Inorganic Chemistry Home Page. ACS Publications, American Chemical Society, n.d. Accessed August 20, 2008.
- ↑ Inorganic chemistry by Wikipedia
- ↑ Biochemistry by Wikipedia
- ↑ Friedrich Wöhler by Wikipedia
- ↑ Analytical chemistry by Wikipedia
- ↑ Physical chemistry by Wikipedia
- ↑ "Physical Chemists Explore The Way Things Work." American Chemical Society, 2008. Accessed August 20, 2008.
External links
- Wilbraham, Antony C., Dennis D. Staley, Michael S. Matta, and Edward L. Waterman. Chemistry. Boston: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008.
- Boyle, Robert Wolfram Research
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