CHEMISTRY: Abridged History of Chemistry

“Matter cannot be created nor destroyed”

formally known as the law of conservation of mass

only formally codified in the late 1780s by Antoine Lavoisier

Law of Conservation of Mass

Democritus, an ancient Greek philosopher, theorized that there all objects will reach a point where they cannot be divided, and called that indivisible unit: ___

atomos

the etymological root for atom

atomos

Modern Atomic Theory was only formalized in the early 1800s starting with the work of ___

John Dalton

the discovery of the positively-charged nucleus was only formalized in 1911 through ____ experiments

Rutherford

as western Europe fell into the Dark ages, the ___ world, preserved the writings of Ancient Greek and Roman culture by translating them to Arabic, and they developed on them

Islamic

developed labrotary techniques  that now form the backbone of organic chemistry, such as distillation, crystallization, filtration, and extraction

Islamic chemists

Left their mark through the English vocabulary of science (examples)

Algorithm, algebra, almanac, cypher zero, zenith

Scientific reason as emphasized and formalized in this period 

The Age of Enlightenment

First truly “scientific” methods by modern standards were first formalized in this period, such as the use of standard weights and measure, and the use of the scientific method.

The Age of Enlightenment

developed standardized methods of laboratory experimentation on their was to discoveries in gases

The Lavoisiers

formalized the first atomic theory

John Dalton

one of the pioneers in the study of gases, which led to the formation of the concept of the modern elements 

Priestly

Chemists from this period made significant advancements in categories of chemistry relating to energy and radiation

Age of Classical Chemistry

Michael Faraday’s experiments with electricity

Age of Classical Chemistry

discoveries with radioactivity and advancements in thermodynamics 

The Curies’

The groundwork of the scientists in this ers form much of the backbone of basic chemistry today

Age of Classical Chemistry

The early 1900s marked the infancy of a new branch of science, one that still baffles and causes wonder and confusion until the present day

Quantum mechanics

The discovery of quantum mechanics marked the completion of classical mechanics, outlined by Newton, and brought in a new chapter in the natural sciences 

Quantum mechanics

Previous assumptions, such as energy and matter being separate entities, are now thrown out the window

Quantum mechanics

still one of the leading areas of scientific research, but its frontiers look slightly different

Chemistry

3 Leading fields of today:

1. Biochemistry

2. Materials chemistry 

3. Environmental and Green Chemistry

emerged as one of the most dominant fields in chemistry. 

Biochemistry

With analytical techniques developed through the work of those who operated under the umbrella of physical and quantum chemistry, new discoveries and techniques were developed to better understand the chemistry of life 

Biochemistry

At the cutting edge of current chemistry 

Biochemistry

17 out of 25 research projects were awarded the Nobel Prize 

Biochemistry

Most important discovery: DNA 

Biochemistry

It’s structure first confirmed in the 1950’s

DNA

Center of multiple biochemical innovations, including virus detection, genetic modification, and forensic science

DNA

Some of its branches such as metals and ceramics known since antiquity, the body of thought that dealt with the properties of matter was only fully formalized starting the early 1900s

Materials chemistry 

Fueled by the need of materials with properties other than metals, ceramics, or naturally occurring bioproducts

Materials chemistry 

In the 1960s, a growing concern in the scientific community was in the way we humans have polluted the Earth. 

Environmental and Green Chemistry

New scientific techniques were used to prove the Earth has been damaged by pollution, numerous innovations have been made to stop or stem the further damage of human activities to the planet, leading to the start of environmental and green chemistry 

Environmental and Green Chemistry