Chemistry

From RationalWiki

Jump to: navigation, search
It works!

Science

Icon science.svg
Major disciplines
Science articles
Philosophy of science

Chemistry is the branch of science that studies the interaction between atoms, and how atoms form molecules and compounds. The science mostly concerns itself with the activities of the outer electrons of atoms and provides the basic rules on which biological sciences are based. Essentially, if someone marvels at how amazing it is that a protein folds together, or that coal and oil happens to burn to create energy, it is the rules governed by chemistry that make it happen.

Contents

[edit] Main disciplines

[edit] Other sub-disciplines

[edit] How far and how fast

[edit] Benefits

Modern chemistry is capable of amazing things, both analyzing the exact structure of complex molecules and synthesizing naturally-occurring and "invented" molecules and substances. From dyes to plastics, to the processes that purify the silicon used in computer chips, the science of chemistry is inextricably linked with how the human race is able to live today.

[edit] Chemical bonding

Most atoms bond with each other by sharing electrons between their valence shells in what is known as a covalent bond. It is the breaking and making of such bonds that governs most, if not all of chemistry. When more than one atom is bonded together, the result is called a molecule, ranging from the small, such as methane, to the very large such as DNA.

Ionic bonding is the special case whereby an electron is formally transferred from one atom to another, forming ions. As an atom has an overall neutral charge, the removal of an electron leaves a positively charged ion and the addition of an electron leaves a negatively charged ion. Electrostatic forces then attract the positively charged ions to the negatively charged ions. An example of ionic bonding is in common salt, sodium chloride, which contains an equal number of positively charged sodium ions and negatively charged chloride ions bonded electrostatically.

Personal tools
Namespaces
Variants
Actions
Navigation
Community
Toolbox
support