Aug
16
Do you think it would be best for me to tell my chemistry professor how I feel?
Filed Under Physical Chemistry | 3 Comments
Last semester I had a physical chemistry course with a new single female professor named Ms. Williams. From the first moment I saw her I thought she was really cute. We had become very close because she realized that I had problems outside of school that was affecting me and she offered to help. I did really well in her class and all my other classes because of this. However this semester I had a mediocre grade on the first test because she keeps running through my mind and in my dreams. I know that as my professor it wont be right to date or sleep with her however I feel that if I could tell her how I feel that it would get this burden of this chest to know if she would have liked me or no and I would be able to focus on her class better. Should I tell her how I feel?
By: Shawn
By: Shawn
Aug
15
It has been often said and many times proven that nothing exists or canbe explained without mathematics and chemistry. Chemistry is the
essence of all things and mathematics is the universal language utilized to explain this essence.
Chemistry is the science that studies molecules, crystals, metals, and non-metals and it is concerned with the composition, transformations
and interactions of all materials found in everyday life.
Chemistry is called the ’central’ science. This is because it is thelink between other naturalsciences such as biology, geology, astronomy and physics. Chemistry involves the interaction of matter. It can be used to describe interactions of matter to matter, or of matter to energy
Chemists use reaction equations to explain these interactions. For instance, the popular reaction equatio for the formation of water from
hydrogen and oxygen interacting is as follows:
2 H2 + O2 ? 2 H2O
There are many sub-disciplines of chemistry. The chemistry taught in high school and at the beginning of collegiate studies is called general
chemistry and is meant to pertain to the fundamental concepts of this huge field. Modern chemistry stems from the ancient alchemists. For thousands and thousands of years, these primitive chemists attempted to crack thecodes of life, and all of its components. Today chemistry has grown into a monster of explanation, creating the fields of forensic sciences and genetics.
Criminologists, physicians, fuel and power companies and processed food manufacturers all are in total debt to the field of chemistry. In
actuality, anything and everything that you can experience with any of your senses, solitary or in combination, can only be explained in terms of
chemistry.
As a subject of study, chemistry presents not only the most versatile and exciting potential, but perhaps the most perplexing and difficult as well. Chemistry is everything. It is life and death; it is everything in between.
By: anthony amerson
essence of all things and mathematics is the universal language utilized to explain this essence.
Chemistry is the science that studies molecules, crystals, metals, and non-metals and it is concerned with the composition, transformations
and interactions of all materials found in everyday life.
Chemistry is called the ’central’ science. This is because it is thelink between other naturalsciences such as biology, geology, astronomy and physics. Chemistry involves the interaction of matter. It can be used to describe interactions of matter to matter, or of matter to energy
Chemists use reaction equations to explain these interactions. For instance, the popular reaction equatio for the formation of water from
hydrogen and oxygen interacting is as follows:
2 H2 + O2 ? 2 H2O
There are many sub-disciplines of chemistry. The chemistry taught in high school and at the beginning of collegiate studies is called general
chemistry and is meant to pertain to the fundamental concepts of this huge field. Modern chemistry stems from the ancient alchemists. For thousands and thousands of years, these primitive chemists attempted to crack thecodes of life, and all of its components. Today chemistry has grown into a monster of explanation, creating the fields of forensic sciences and genetics.
Criminologists, physicians, fuel and power companies and processed food manufacturers all are in total debt to the field of chemistry. In
actuality, anything and everything that you can experience with any of your senses, solitary or in combination, can only be explained in terms of
chemistry.
As a subject of study, chemistry presents not only the most versatile and exciting potential, but perhaps the most perplexing and difficult as well. Chemistry is everything. It is life and death; it is everything in between.
By: anthony amerson
Aug
15
why is creationism / intelligent design inconsistent with physical evidence?
Filed Under Physical Chemistry | 8 Comments
the first people who worked on the origins of man were religious men who set out to prove the biblical fairy tale of creationism. to their despair, they found no such supporting evidence, and instead found evolution. why is physical evidence from thousands of different groups working in totally different fields — archaeology, physics, physical and organic chemistry, genetics, and biochemistry — consistent with evolution and wholly inconsistent with creationism / intelligent design?
a. because religion is made up
b. because religion is made up
c. because religion is made up
d. because religion is made up
e. all of the above
if you want to attack evolution i will just refer you to http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/list.html
a. because religion is made up
b. because religion is made up
c. because religion is made up
d. because religion is made up
e. all of the above
if you want to attack evolution i will just refer you to http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/list.html
i am more interested in proof of religion. for instance, does anybody have proof that noah made a big boat and put all the animals in the entire world onto it, like maybe evidence of the boat, or his master list of all the animals that have ever existed, how he kept them in captivity, and what he fed them, etc.?
By: darwkins
Aug
13
Nationalism and Chemistry
Filed Under Organic Chemistry | Leave a Comment
When Humphry Davy, a British Chemist, electrolyzed molten potassium hydroxide in 1807 to extract the first of the alkali metals, Davy obtained such acclaim for his extraction of these metals from their salts that the following rhyme was written about him by E.C.Bentley;
Sir Humphry Davy
Abominated gravy
Lived in the odium
Of having discovered Sodium
When Napoleon, the then French ruler, came to know of this news, he became very angry as to why the French chemists had not been the first to do this. Interestingly, it was a coincidence that Napoleon’s dream was fulfilled in 1939 when none less than a French chemist, Marguerite Perry, not only isolated the alkali metal that exists only as radioactive isotopes, but also named it Francium after his native country, France ,and consoled the soul of the then deceased emperor.
If we think about the history of both the underlying basis and the controversies behind names and symbols of some of the chemical elements, the facts and figures themselves will speak about the factuality and the reality. In the early days of chemistry a scientist who happened to discover a new element, had the honor of naming it too. But now discoverers/researchers are required to submit their choices for a name to an international Scientific Body called the “International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry”, IUPAC, to have a new element properly named and placed on the periodic table due to contradictory claims of active research groups and tug of war between them for the sake of getting mileage and recognition out of their claimed contributions, if any.
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is an international non-governmental organization established in 1919 devoted to the advancement of chemistry. It is most well known as the recognized authority in developing standards for the naming of the chemical elements and their compounds, through its Interdivisional Committee on Nomenclature and Symbols (IUPAC nomenclature). It is a member of the International Council for Science (ICSU). In addition to nomenclature guidelines, the IUPAC sets standards for international spelling in the event of a dispute; for example, it ruled that international aluminium is preferable to the American aluminum and American sulfur is preferable to the British sulphur.
As researchers continue to discover elements and expand the periodic table, the job of deciding on a name and symbol is becoming not only an increasingly complex task but also a sensitive issue. The convention that an element be named by its discoverer(s), resulted in a nationalistic dispute between laboratories attempting to synthesize the elements first, thus earning naming rights for having “discovered” them. Therefore, in this context discovery is synonymous with first synthesis. The controversy arose when multiple groups claimed to have discovered the same elements. Usually the Russians were the first to make the claim, and the Americans would dispute, claiming that the research could not be independently verified.
The four groups which were involved in the conflict over element naming were:
*An American group at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
*A Russian group at Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna
*A German group at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt
*The IUPAC Commission on Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry, which introduced its own proposal to the IUPAC General Assembly.
While the preferred names for the elements by the American group for elements having atomic numbers: 104, 105, and 106, were: rutherfordium, hafnium, and seaborgium respectively, the preferred names for the elements having atomic numbers: 104 and 105 by the Russian group were: kurchatovium, and nielsbohrium respectively. However the preferred names for the elements having atomic numbers: 107, 108, and 109, by the German group were: nielsbohrium, hassium, and meitnerium.
As per IUPAC proposal element 104 was to be named after Igor Kurchatov, father of the Russian atomic bomb, and this was the obvious reason that the name was objectionable to the Americans. The American name to 106 was objectionable to some because Glenn T. Seaborg was still alive and hence his name could not be used for an element in accordance with the IUPAC rules. While it is commonly stated that Seaborgium is the only element to have been named after a living person, this is not entirely true as both einsteinium and fermium were proposed as names of new elements discovered by Albert Ghiorso, Seaborg and the other American co-discoverers of those elements while Enrico Fermi and Albert Einstein were still living. However, the discovery of these elements and their names were kept secret under Cold War era nuclear secrecy rules, and thus the names could not become known either to the public or the broader scientific community until after the deaths of both Fermi and Einstein.
In 1994, the IUPAC Commission on Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry proposed the names: dubnium, joliotium, rutherfordium, bohrium, hahnium, and meitnerium for elements having atomic numbers:104,105, 106, 107,108, and109 respectively in an attempt to resolve the dispute by replacing the name for 104 with one honoring the Dubna research center, and not naming 106 after Seaborg.
However, this solution drew objections from the American Chemical Society (ACS) on the grounds that the right of the American group to propose the name for element 106 was not in question and that group should have the right to name the element whatever it wanted to. Indeed, under the most compromising intentions, IUPAC decided that the credit for the discovery of element 106 should be shared between both Berkeley and Dubna but the Dubna group did not oblige IUPAC by coming forward with a name for this element. In addition, given that many American books had already used Rutherfordium and Hahnium for 104 and 105, the ACS objected to those names being used for other elements. Seaborg commented wryly at a talk in 1995 that “There has been some reluctance on the part of the Commission for Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry to accept the name after me because I’m still alive and they can prove it, they say.” Finally in 1997, the names agreed upon on the 39th IUPAC General Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, were: 104 - rutherfordium; 105 - dubnium; 106 - seaborgium; 107 - bohrium; 108 - hassium, and 109 - meitnerium.
In 1999, Glenn T. Seaborg died, still disputing the name change for At.No.105 and adamant about it remaining known as Hahnium. His reason concerning Dubna in Russia was his belief that they had made a false claim about discovering the element for which they had been credited. Interestingly and understably when the Dubna group finally did release some additional data on the experiment, Seaborg was quick to claim that it was a misreading of the decay pattern of their product. Even then, the Dubna group still refused to remove their claim. Some people in the Berkeley group and some others still refer to it as Hahnium.
The list of chemical elements named after people with symbol and atomic numbers given in brackets are as: bohrium (Bh, 107) in recognition of Niels Bohr; curium (Cm, 96) in recognition of Pierre and Marie Curie; einsteinium (Es, 99) in recognition of Albert Einstein; fermium (Fm, 100) in recognition of Enrico Fermi; gallium (Ga, 31) , although named after Gallia (Latin for France), the discoverer of the metal Lecoq de Boisbaudran subtly attached an association with his name. Lecoq (rooster) in Latin is gallus; lawrencium (Lr, 103) in recognition of Ernest Lawrence; meitnerium (Mt, 109) in recognition of Lise Meitner; mendelevium (Md, 101) in recognition of Dmitri Mendeleev; nobelium (No, 102) in recognition of Alfred Nobel; roentgenium (Rg, 111) in recognition of Wilhelm Roentgen; rutherfordium (Rf, 104) in recognition of Ernest Rutherford, and seaborgium (Sg, 106) in recognition of Glenn T. Seaborg.
The element naming controversy that surrounded elements 104 to 109 saw two further names derived from people gain partial acceptance. Neither was or is accepted by IUPAC. hahnium (Hh, 105) in recognition of Otto Hahn, now known as dubnium, and kurchatovium (Ku, 104) in recognition of Igor Kurchatov, now known as rutherfordium.
The elements named after mythical characters are: niobium (Nb, 41) for Niobe, a mortal woman in Greek mythology; promethium (Pm, 61) for Prometheus, a Titan from Greek mythology; tantalum (Ta, 73) for Tantalus, from Greek mythology; thorium (Th, 90) for Thor, the Norse god of thunder; titanium (Ti, 22) for the Titans, from Greek mythology, and vanadium (V, 23) for Scandinavian goddess Vanadis (Freyja). Many chemical elements are named after astronomical bodies which are named after Greek or Roman deities. It is interesting to note that Gadolinium (Gd, 64) has got its name from the mineral gadolinite, which in turn is named after the Finnish chemist and geologist Johan Gadolin and Samarium (Sm, 62) is believed to be named after the mineral samarskite which in turn is named after Vasili Samarsky-Bykhovets, a Russian mine official.
Many elements have been named after places such as: americium for the Americas; berkelium for the city of Berkeley, California, home of the University of California; californium for both the state of California and University of California, Berkeley; copper is probably named after Cyprus; darmstadtium for Darmstadt, Germany; dubnium for Dubna, Russia; erbium for Ytterby, Sweden; europium for Europe; francium for France; gallium for Gallia, Latin for France(Frenchman Lecoq de Boisbaudran, who was the discoverer of the metal, named it after his country and also subtly for himself. Lecoq (rooster) in Latin is gallus); germanium for Germany; hafnium for Hafnia, Latin for Copenhagen; hassium for Hesse, Germany; holmium for Holmia, Latin for Stockholm; lutetium for Lutetia, Latin for Paris; magnesium for Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece; polonium for Poland; rhenium for Rhenus, Latin for Rhine; ruthenium for Ruthenia, Latin for Rus’ (Russia, Ukraine and Belarus); scandium for Scandia, Latin for Scandinavia; strontium for Strontian, Scotland; terbium for Ytterby, Sweden; thulium for Thule, a mythical island in the far north, perhaps Scandinavia; ytterbium again for Ytterby, Sweden, and yttrium still again for the same Ytterby, Sweden.
It is worth noting that four elements namely: Erbium, Terbium, Ytterbium and Yttrium, have been named after Ytterby, a small place in Sweden.
While concluding this wright up it may be added that some elements have been named after astronomical objects too, for example, cerium for Ceres; helium for Helios, the Greek name for the Sun; neptunium for Neptune; palladium for Pallas; plutonium for Pluto; selenium for Selene, the Greek name for the Moon; tellurium for Tellus, the Latin name for the Earth; uranium for Uranus, and mercury for Mercury , which was itself named after the Roman god Mercury.
By: Dr.Badruddin Khan
Sir Humphry Davy
Abominated gravy
Lived in the odium
Of having discovered Sodium
When Napoleon, the then French ruler, came to know of this news, he became very angry as to why the French chemists had not been the first to do this. Interestingly, it was a coincidence that Napoleon’s dream was fulfilled in 1939 when none less than a French chemist, Marguerite Perry, not only isolated the alkali metal that exists only as radioactive isotopes, but also named it Francium after his native country, France ,and consoled the soul of the then deceased emperor.
If we think about the history of both the underlying basis and the controversies behind names and symbols of some of the chemical elements, the facts and figures themselves will speak about the factuality and the reality. In the early days of chemistry a scientist who happened to discover a new element, had the honor of naming it too. But now discoverers/researchers are required to submit their choices for a name to an international Scientific Body called the “International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry”, IUPAC, to have a new element properly named and placed on the periodic table due to contradictory claims of active research groups and tug of war between them for the sake of getting mileage and recognition out of their claimed contributions, if any.
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is an international non-governmental organization established in 1919 devoted to the advancement of chemistry. It is most well known as the recognized authority in developing standards for the naming of the chemical elements and their compounds, through its Interdivisional Committee on Nomenclature and Symbols (IUPAC nomenclature). It is a member of the International Council for Science (ICSU). In addition to nomenclature guidelines, the IUPAC sets standards for international spelling in the event of a dispute; for example, it ruled that international aluminium is preferable to the American aluminum and American sulfur is preferable to the British sulphur.
As researchers continue to discover elements and expand the periodic table, the job of deciding on a name and symbol is becoming not only an increasingly complex task but also a sensitive issue. The convention that an element be named by its discoverer(s), resulted in a nationalistic dispute between laboratories attempting to synthesize the elements first, thus earning naming rights for having “discovered” them. Therefore, in this context discovery is synonymous with first synthesis. The controversy arose when multiple groups claimed to have discovered the same elements. Usually the Russians were the first to make the claim, and the Americans would dispute, claiming that the research could not be independently verified.
The four groups which were involved in the conflict over element naming were:
*An American group at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
*A Russian group at Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna
*A German group at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt
*The IUPAC Commission on Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry, which introduced its own proposal to the IUPAC General Assembly.
While the preferred names for the elements by the American group for elements having atomic numbers: 104, 105, and 106, were: rutherfordium, hafnium, and seaborgium respectively, the preferred names for the elements having atomic numbers: 104 and 105 by the Russian group were: kurchatovium, and nielsbohrium respectively. However the preferred names for the elements having atomic numbers: 107, 108, and 109, by the German group were: nielsbohrium, hassium, and meitnerium.
As per IUPAC proposal element 104 was to be named after Igor Kurchatov, father of the Russian atomic bomb, and this was the obvious reason that the name was objectionable to the Americans. The American name to 106 was objectionable to some because Glenn T. Seaborg was still alive and hence his name could not be used for an element in accordance with the IUPAC rules. While it is commonly stated that Seaborgium is the only element to have been named after a living person, this is not entirely true as both einsteinium and fermium were proposed as names of new elements discovered by Albert Ghiorso, Seaborg and the other American co-discoverers of those elements while Enrico Fermi and Albert Einstein were still living. However, the discovery of these elements and their names were kept secret under Cold War era nuclear secrecy rules, and thus the names could not become known either to the public or the broader scientific community until after the deaths of both Fermi and Einstein.
In 1994, the IUPAC Commission on Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry proposed the names: dubnium, joliotium, rutherfordium, bohrium, hahnium, and meitnerium for elements having atomic numbers:104,105, 106, 107,108, and109 respectively in an attempt to resolve the dispute by replacing the name for 104 with one honoring the Dubna research center, and not naming 106 after Seaborg.
However, this solution drew objections from the American Chemical Society (ACS) on the grounds that the right of the American group to propose the name for element 106 was not in question and that group should have the right to name the element whatever it wanted to. Indeed, under the most compromising intentions, IUPAC decided that the credit for the discovery of element 106 should be shared between both Berkeley and Dubna but the Dubna group did not oblige IUPAC by coming forward with a name for this element. In addition, given that many American books had already used Rutherfordium and Hahnium for 104 and 105, the ACS objected to those names being used for other elements. Seaborg commented wryly at a talk in 1995 that “There has been some reluctance on the part of the Commission for Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry to accept the name after me because I’m still alive and they can prove it, they say.” Finally in 1997, the names agreed upon on the 39th IUPAC General Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, were: 104 - rutherfordium; 105 - dubnium; 106 - seaborgium; 107 - bohrium; 108 - hassium, and 109 - meitnerium.
In 1999, Glenn T. Seaborg died, still disputing the name change for At.No.105 and adamant about it remaining known as Hahnium. His reason concerning Dubna in Russia was his belief that they had made a false claim about discovering the element for which they had been credited. Interestingly and understably when the Dubna group finally did release some additional data on the experiment, Seaborg was quick to claim that it was a misreading of the decay pattern of their product. Even then, the Dubna group still refused to remove their claim. Some people in the Berkeley group and some others still refer to it as Hahnium.
The list of chemical elements named after people with symbol and atomic numbers given in brackets are as: bohrium (Bh, 107) in recognition of Niels Bohr; curium (Cm, 96) in recognition of Pierre and Marie Curie; einsteinium (Es, 99) in recognition of Albert Einstein; fermium (Fm, 100) in recognition of Enrico Fermi; gallium (Ga, 31) , although named after Gallia (Latin for France), the discoverer of the metal Lecoq de Boisbaudran subtly attached an association with his name. Lecoq (rooster) in Latin is gallus; lawrencium (Lr, 103) in recognition of Ernest Lawrence; meitnerium (Mt, 109) in recognition of Lise Meitner; mendelevium (Md, 101) in recognition of Dmitri Mendeleev; nobelium (No, 102) in recognition of Alfred Nobel; roentgenium (Rg, 111) in recognition of Wilhelm Roentgen; rutherfordium (Rf, 104) in recognition of Ernest Rutherford, and seaborgium (Sg, 106) in recognition of Glenn T. Seaborg.
The element naming controversy that surrounded elements 104 to 109 saw two further names derived from people gain partial acceptance. Neither was or is accepted by IUPAC. hahnium (Hh, 105) in recognition of Otto Hahn, now known as dubnium, and kurchatovium (Ku, 104) in recognition of Igor Kurchatov, now known as rutherfordium.
The elements named after mythical characters are: niobium (Nb, 41) for Niobe, a mortal woman in Greek mythology; promethium (Pm, 61) for Prometheus, a Titan from Greek mythology; tantalum (Ta, 73) for Tantalus, from Greek mythology; thorium (Th, 90) for Thor, the Norse god of thunder; titanium (Ti, 22) for the Titans, from Greek mythology, and vanadium (V, 23) for Scandinavian goddess Vanadis (Freyja). Many chemical elements are named after astronomical bodies which are named after Greek or Roman deities. It is interesting to note that Gadolinium (Gd, 64) has got its name from the mineral gadolinite, which in turn is named after the Finnish chemist and geologist Johan Gadolin and Samarium (Sm, 62) is believed to be named after the mineral samarskite which in turn is named after Vasili Samarsky-Bykhovets, a Russian mine official.
Many elements have been named after places such as: americium for the Americas; berkelium for the city of Berkeley, California, home of the University of California; californium for both the state of California and University of California, Berkeley; copper is probably named after Cyprus; darmstadtium for Darmstadt, Germany; dubnium for Dubna, Russia; erbium for Ytterby, Sweden; europium for Europe; francium for France; gallium for Gallia, Latin for France(Frenchman Lecoq de Boisbaudran, who was the discoverer of the metal, named it after his country and also subtly for himself. Lecoq (rooster) in Latin is gallus); germanium for Germany; hafnium for Hafnia, Latin for Copenhagen; hassium for Hesse, Germany; holmium for Holmia, Latin for Stockholm; lutetium for Lutetia, Latin for Paris; magnesium for Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece; polonium for Poland; rhenium for Rhenus, Latin for Rhine; ruthenium for Ruthenia, Latin for Rus’ (Russia, Ukraine and Belarus); scandium for Scandia, Latin for Scandinavia; strontium for Strontian, Scotland; terbium for Ytterby, Sweden; thulium for Thule, a mythical island in the far north, perhaps Scandinavia; ytterbium again for Ytterby, Sweden, and yttrium still again for the same Ytterby, Sweden.
It is worth noting that four elements namely: Erbium, Terbium, Ytterbium and Yttrium, have been named after Ytterby, a small place in Sweden.
While concluding this wright up it may be added that some elements have been named after astronomical objects too, for example, cerium for Ceres; helium for Helios, the Greek name for the Sun; neptunium for Neptune; palladium for Pallas; plutonium for Pluto; selenium for Selene, the Greek name for the Moon; tellurium for Tellus, the Latin name for the Earth; uranium for Uranus, and mercury for Mercury , which was itself named after the Roman god Mercury.
By: Dr.Badruddin Khan
Aug
12
Mathematics in Physics and Chemistry
Filed Under Biochemistry | Leave a Comment
‘Mathematics is the queen of all sciences’ – those are the words of Carl Friedrich Gauss the greatest mathematician of all time.
Mathematics is an important tool for science. Math is most widely used in other sciences. Physics, Chemistry, astronomy, engineering rely most heavily upon mathematical ideas.
Students who consider studying Physics or Chemistry will need a relatively strong Math background.
Mathematics in Physics
Physics is the natural science which explores concepts like mass, energy, matter and its motions. Strong foundation in Algebra, Trigonometry, Geometry, and calculus is essential for physics. Mathematical methods are absolutely necessary to deal with important concepts in physics.
The following are some examples.
(1) Electromagnetic theory is the branch of physics that studies the group of forces associated with electric charges. Vector Analysis is very important for the understanding and developing of Electromagnetic theory.
(2) Group theory is useful in Spectroscopy, Quantum mechanics, Solid state physics, and Nuclear physics.
(3) Fourier techniques are important for the analysis of all linear systems in physics.
(4) Matrix Analysis is necessary for understanding Quantum Mechanics.
(5) Complex numbers are used extensively in physics to describe Electromagnetic Waves and Quantum Mechanics.
Mathematics in Chemistry
Chemistry is the natural science which explores the composition and properties of substances. Math is essential for chemistry. The necessary mathematical background for the study of chemistry includes basic algebra, some trigonometry, and calculus.
The following are some examples.
(1) Being able to balance chemical equations is a very important skill for chemistry students. It’s a simple mathematical exercise. Balancing a chemical equation refers to establishing the mathematical relationship between the amounts of reactants and products involved in the chemical reaction.
Let’s go more in detail.
A chemical equation is a statement that describes what happens in a chemical reaction.
In a chemical equation, we place the reactants (substances undergoing chemical reaction) on the left side of the equation and the products (substances produced in a chemical reaction) on the right side of the equation. We have reactants and products separated by an arrow and the arrow always points in the direction of the products.
Consider the reaction of carbon with oxygen gas to produce carbon-dioxide.
C + O2 —> CO2 (2 is subscript)
The above equation is already balanced, because, it has an equal number of atoms of each element in the reactants and the product. One carbon atom (C) and two oxygen atoms (O) on the left side of the equation and it’s the same on the right side too.
Let’s look at one more example.
Sodium chloride is the common salt. Sodium and chlorine form sodium chloride.
Na + Cl2 —> NaCl (2 is subscript)
The above equation is NOT balanced. It has two chlorine atoms on the left side, but, only one on the right side of the equation.
Let’s balance this chemical equation.
2Na + Cl2 —> 2NaCl (2 is subscript only in Cl2)
It works! Notice that now there are equal number of atoms of each element in the reactants and the product.
Chemical equations can be balanced conveniently using matrices or simultaneous equations.
A number of fields of chemistry use a significant amount of Math.
(2) Electrochemistry is a branch of chemistry that studies the chemical action of electricity and the production of electricity by chemical reactions. Diffusion in electrochemistry is completely based on differential equations.
(3) Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes in living organisms. Even biochemistry has important topics which depend heavily on binding theory and kinetics.
By: chandrajeet
Mathematics is an important tool for science. Math is most widely used in other sciences. Physics, Chemistry, astronomy, engineering rely most heavily upon mathematical ideas.
Students who consider studying Physics or Chemistry will need a relatively strong Math background.
Mathematics in Physics
Physics is the natural science which explores concepts like mass, energy, matter and its motions. Strong foundation in Algebra, Trigonometry, Geometry, and calculus is essential for physics. Mathematical methods are absolutely necessary to deal with important concepts in physics.
The following are some examples.
(1) Electromagnetic theory is the branch of physics that studies the group of forces associated with electric charges. Vector Analysis is very important for the understanding and developing of Electromagnetic theory.
(2) Group theory is useful in Spectroscopy, Quantum mechanics, Solid state physics, and Nuclear physics.
(3) Fourier techniques are important for the analysis of all linear systems in physics.
(4) Matrix Analysis is necessary for understanding Quantum Mechanics.
(5) Complex numbers are used extensively in physics to describe Electromagnetic Waves and Quantum Mechanics.
Mathematics in Chemistry
Chemistry is the natural science which explores the composition and properties of substances. Math is essential for chemistry. The necessary mathematical background for the study of chemistry includes basic algebra, some trigonometry, and calculus.
The following are some examples.
(1) Being able to balance chemical equations is a very important skill for chemistry students. It’s a simple mathematical exercise. Balancing a chemical equation refers to establishing the mathematical relationship between the amounts of reactants and products involved in the chemical reaction.
Let’s go more in detail.
A chemical equation is a statement that describes what happens in a chemical reaction.
In a chemical equation, we place the reactants (substances undergoing chemical reaction) on the left side of the equation and the products (substances produced in a chemical reaction) on the right side of the equation. We have reactants and products separated by an arrow and the arrow always points in the direction of the products.
Consider the reaction of carbon with oxygen gas to produce carbon-dioxide.
C + O2 —> CO2 (2 is subscript)
The above equation is already balanced, because, it has an equal number of atoms of each element in the reactants and the product. One carbon atom (C) and two oxygen atoms (O) on the left side of the equation and it’s the same on the right side too.
Let’s look at one more example.
Sodium chloride is the common salt. Sodium and chlorine form sodium chloride.
Na + Cl2 —> NaCl (2 is subscript)
The above equation is NOT balanced. It has two chlorine atoms on the left side, but, only one on the right side of the equation.
Let’s balance this chemical equation.
2Na + Cl2 —> 2NaCl (2 is subscript only in Cl2)
It works! Notice that now there are equal number of atoms of each element in the reactants and the product.
Chemical equations can be balanced conveniently using matrices or simultaneous equations.
A number of fields of chemistry use a significant amount of Math.
(2) Electrochemistry is a branch of chemistry that studies the chemical action of electricity and the production of electricity by chemical reactions. Diffusion in electrochemistry is completely based on differential equations.
(3) Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes in living organisms. Even biochemistry has important topics which depend heavily on binding theory and kinetics.
By: chandrajeet
Aug
12
Contributions of Ancient Arabian and Egyptian Scientists on Chemistry
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Contributions of Ancient Arabian and Egyptian Scientists on Chemistry
Md. Wasim Aktar* and M. Paramasivam
Deptt. of Agril. Chemicals, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India.
Abstracts
The modern chemistry is based on the findings and thinking of the people of historical age. If no one knows the base and work of the previous on a subject, he or she could mere develop a new thought or findings. For, a civilization must know its past. Hence, the present work is a small effort to find out the contribution of ancient Arabian and Egyptian scientists in the field of Chemistry. Different scientists of different school of thought, correlating different streams of science being Chemistry as a main subject, are described in the present work.
Chemistry deals with the composition and properties of substances and the changes of composition they undergo. It has been divided into Inorganic and Organic. The conception of this in modern Chemistry came from al-Rãzi’s classification of chemical substances into mineral, vegetable and animal. Inorganic Chemistry, deals with the preparation and properties of the elements, and their compounds, originally arose from the study of minerals and metals, whereas Organic Chemistry, which deals with carbon compounds, developed through the investigation of animal and plant products.
Prior to 1828 it was not possible to synthesize organic substances from their elements and, therefore, it was supposed that there existed fundamental difference between Organic and Inorganic Chemistry. In 1828 F. Wohler synthetically prepared urea, an organic substance; thereby revealing that there was no fundamental difference between these two branches of Chemistry. Since carbon compounds were numerous, their study separately made under Organic Chemistry, and study of elements and non-carbon compounds included in Inorganic Chemistry’. (1)
The earliest discoveries in Inorganic Chemistry were made in metallurgy, Materia Medica, painting, enameling, glazing, glass-making, arts, etc. These arts, and many metals, compounds and alloys were known to the Arabs. Similarly, the discoveries in Organic Chemistry were made in the arts of dyeing, tanning, the manufacture of paper, in the study of fats, both of plant and animal origin, in medicine, etc. Thus Chemistry had its sources in photo techniques, mineralogy, metallurgy, Materia Medica and decorative arts. It is the product of transmutation of baser metals into gold
and philosophical thoughts of practical or theoretical interest. Finally, it is the result of the study of the properties of the substances.
A Greek philosopher, Empedocles, held the view that all the four elements, air, water, earth and fire, were the primal elements, and that the various substances were made by their intermixing. He regarded them to be distinct and unchangeable. Aristotle considered these elements to be changeable i.e., one kind of matter could be changed into another kind. (2)
Jábir ibn Hayyãn (Liatinized as Geber), a great Arabian Chemist of the 8th century A.C., modified the Aristotelian doctrine of the four elements, and presented the so-called sulphur-mercury theory of metals. According to this theory metals differ essentially because of different proportions of sulphur and mercury in them. He also formulated the theory of geologic formation of metals.
Unlike his Greek predecessors, he did not merely speculate, but performed experiments to reach certain conclusions. He recognized and stated the importance of experimentation in Chemistry. He combined the theoretical knowledge of the Greeks and practical knowledge of the craftsmen, and himself made noteworthy advance both in the theory and practice of Chemistry.
Jâbir’s contribution to Chemistry is very great. He gave a scientific description of two principle operations of Chemistry. One of them is calcinations which is employed in the extraction of metals from their ores. The other is reduction which is employed in numerous chemical treatments. He improved upon the methods of evaporation, melting, distillation, sublimation and crystallization. These are the fundamental methods employed for the purification of chemical substances, enabling the chemist to study their properties and uses, and to prepare them. The process of distillation is particularly applied for taking extract of plant material.
In the opinion of Jàbir the cultivation of gold was not the only object of a chemist. The preparation of new chemical substances was also regarded by him as the chief object of Chemistry. We owe to him for the first preparation of such substances as arsenic and antimony from their sulphides, and basic lead carbonate. He also did important work in the preparation of steel, and the refinement of metals. Jàbir also deals with such applications as the use of manganese dioxide in glass-making, varnishes to water-proof cloth and protect iron use of iron pyrites for writing in gold and distillation of vinegar to concentrate acetic acid.
The most important discovery made by Jabir was the preparation of sulphuric acid. The importance of this discovery can be realized by the fact that in this modern age the extent of the industrial progress of a country is mostly judged by the amount of. sulphuric acid consumed in that country. Another important acid prepared by him was nitric acid which he obtained by distilling a mixture of alum (of Yemen) and copper sulphate (of Cyprus). Then by dissolving ammonium chloride into this acid, he prepared aqua regia which, unlike acids, could dissolve gold in it.
Jabir classified chemical substances, on the basis of some distinctive features, into bodies (gold, silver, etc.) and souls (mercury, sulphur, etc.) to make the study of their properties easier.
Jãbir is the author of a large number of books on chemistry and a book on astrolabe. About one hundred chemical works ascribed to him are extant. His fame chiefly rests on his chemical books preserved in Arabic. (3)
We find that the author recognized and stated clearly the importance of experimentation more clearly than any other early chemist. He remarkably sound views on methods of chemical research. It is impossible to reach definite conclusions regarding the extent of his contributions until all the Arabic writings ascribed to him have been properly edited and studied. But on the basis of our present knowledge, Jabir appears to be one of the greatest scientist whose influence can be traced throughout the whole period of the historical development of the Arabian and European chemistry. In the light of these facts it would not be improper to call Jãbir as the father of Chemistry.
Some of the chemical writings to which Jãbir’s name is attached were translated into Latin. The first such version, the Book of the Composition of Alchemy was made by Robert of Chester in 1144. The Kitab al-Sab’in (the book of the seventy) was translated by Gerard of Cremona in the 12th century’. The translation of the Sum of Perfection was made by Richard Russell. One of his books has been translated into French by Berthelot. (4)
Several technical terms have passed from Jãbir’s Arabic writings through Latin into the European languages. Among these are realgar (red sulphide of arsenic), tutia (zinc oxide), alkali, antimony, and alembic for distillation Vessel. The Arabic equivalents for the last three words are alqali, ithmad, and al-’anbiq respectively. (5)
Before Jãbir Ibn Hayyan, the Umayyad prince Khalid Ibn Yazid, who was a philosopher, poet and chemist, encouraged Greek philosophers in Egypt to translate Greek scientific works into Arabic. These were among the earliest translations in Arabic from other languages. He was himself deeply interested in medicine, astrology and chemistry. Many chemical works are ascribed to him. One of them is entitled Firdaus al-Hikmah fi’Ilm al-Kimiya. This work was in verse, and contained 2,315 couplets. (6)
An encyclopaedic scientist, and philosopher, Abu Yusuf Ya’qub al-Kindi considered the art of transformation of one metal into the other as an imposture. A few of ‘his numerous works dealing with many sciences are extant. One of his works is on pharmacy, a branch of applied chemistry. (7)
Chemistry was usually mixed up with mineralogy and geology. The oldest Arabian lapidary which may serve as an important source of chemistry was written by ‘Utärid Ibn Muhammad al-Hãsib who flourished in the ninth century. It deals with the properties of precious stones. (8)
In the same century Jãbir’s work was further advanced by al-Räzi who wrote many chemical treatises, and described a number of chemical instruments. One of his treatises consists of 25 pieces of chemical apparatus. He made investigations on specific gravity. One of his important works is on the art of transformation of baser metals into the noble ones. He applied his chemical knowledge for medical purposes, thus laying the foundation of Iatrochemistry. (9)
Other important chemists of this century were Dhu’l-Nün and al-Jàhiz. The former mostly dealt with the art of transmutation of metals. (10) The latter prepared ammonia from animal offals by dry distillation. (11)
In the tenth century Ibn Wahshiyah wrote on chemistry, His work may help to understand chemical symbolism. Maslamah Ibn Ahmad, an astronomer, mathematician and oculist of this century wrote two chemical works entitled, Rutbat al-Hakim and Ghãyat al-Hakim. The second is well known in the Latin translation made in 1252 by the order of King Alfonso under the title Picatrix. (12)
A Persian pharmacologist Abü Mansür Muwaffaq Ibn ‘Ali al-Harawi who flourished in Herat in the tenth century, was apparently the first to think of compiling a treatise on Materia Medica in Persian. He travelled extensively in Persia and India to obtain necessary information. He wrote, between 968 and 977, a book entitled Kitab al-Abniyah ‘an Haqã’iq al-Adwiyah. It contains Greek, Syrian, Arabian, Persian, and Indian knowledge. It deals with 585 remedies (of which 466 are derived from plants, 75 from minerals, and 44 from animals). He classified them into four groups according to their action, and gave the outline of a general pharmacological theory.
Abu Mansür distinguished between sodium carbonate (natrum) and potassium carbonate (qali). He had some knowledge of arsenious oxide, cupric oxide, silicic acid, antimony and so on. He knew the toxicological effects of copper and lead compounds, the depilatory virtue of quicklime, the composition of plaster of Paris and its surgical use. (13)
The greatest Arabian surgeon, Khalaf Ibn ‘Abbäs al-Zahrãwi (d. 1013) wrote a great medical encyclopaedia, al-Tasrif in 30 sections, which contains interesting methods of preparing drugs by sublimation and distillation, but its most important part is the surgical one. (14)
Abü Rayhan Muhammad al-Birüni (973—1048) took a great interest in the determination of the specific gravity of eighteen precious stones and metals. A voluminous unedited lapidary by al- Biruni is extant in unique manuscript in the Escorial Library. It contains a description of a great number of stones and metals from the natural, commercial, and medical point of view. Moreover, he composed a pharmacology (saydalah).Important information could certainly be obtained from his unedited works, on the origin of Indian and Chinese stones and drugs, which appeared in early Arabic scientific works. (15)
Ibn Sinà wrote a treatise on minerals, which was very important and one of the main sources of geological knowledge, also a source of chemistry in Western Europe until the Renaissance.
As mentioned before, mineralogy stood in close relation to chemistry. Nearly fifty Arabic lapidaries have been named. The best known of them is. the ‘Flowers of Knowledge of Stones’, by Shihàb al-Din al-Tifãshi (died in Cairo in 1154). It gives in 25 chapters extensive information on the subject of the same number of precious stones, their origin, geography, examination, purity, price, application for medicinal and magical purposes, and so on. Except for Pliny and the superior Aristotelian lapidary, he quotes only Arabic authors. (16)
The output of the books on Chemistry was very great after the eleventh century. Thus, there are known books of about forty Arabic and Persian chemists. Ibn Khaldun, (d. 1406) the talented Arabian philosopher of history and the greatest intellect of his century, was a violent opponent of the idea of transmutation of metals by chemical means. (17)
Some chemists thought that one metal can be transformed into another by artificial methods. For such transformation they followed different procedures depending on the character and form of the chemical treatment and the substance chosen for this purpose; the substance being called the ‘Noble Stone’ or ‘Philosopher’s Stone’. This may be excrements, or blood, or hair, or eggs, or anything else. After the substance has been specified, it is treated along certain lines mentioned in their books. The result is an earthen or fluid substance which is called Elixir. These chemists think that if Elixir is added to silver which has been heated in a fire, the silver turns into gold. If added to copper which had been heated in a fire, the copper turns into silver.
The question arises whether the metals are of specific differences, each constituting a distinct species, or whether they differ in certain properties and qualities and constitute different kinds of one and the same species?
Abü Nasr al-Färabi and his followers held the opinion that the difference in metals is caused by certain conditions such as humidity and dryness, softness and hardness, and colours such as yellow, white and black. According to him the metals are different kinds of one and the same species.
On the other hand, Ibn Sina and his followers believed that metals have specific differences and belong to different species, each of which has its own differential and genus, like all other species.
According to Abü Nasr al-Färãbi, it is possible to transform one metal into another, because it is possible to change their conditions.
“Ibn Sinà thought that such transformation was impossible. His assumption is based on the fact that specific differences in metals cannot be changed by artificial means. He believed that since the metals are created by the Creator and Determiner of things, God Almighty, and the mystery of their real character was utterly unknown and could not be perceived, any attempt for transformation would be meaningless”. (18)
Ancient Arabs’ art of transformation of metals was based upon Hellenistic and Iranian traditions, but apparently the main principles and the main operations were already established long before the 12th century. Before this century the Arabs had not only made many experiments, and produced several works on this art, but they had begun to doubt and criticise the most advanced theories concerning it. This proves that the standard of their chemical thinking was advanced.
The 12th and 13th centuries added very little to their knowledge about the transformation of metals, but their research continued in various fields. The main chemical writer of this age was Abu‘l-Qãsim Muhammad al-Iraqi who flourished in the second half of the 13th century. He was an experimenter and a theorist. His works represent the full development of the Arabic doctrine. (19)
The 14th century was an enlightened period when a group of intelligent writers began to reject the idea of transformation of metals by chemical means. One of such person was a historian, Rashid al-Din who described such chemical practice in Mongol Persia and expressed his distrust of such chemists. The large encyclopaedic work Nukhbat al-Dahr of al-Dimashqi contains, in part second, much information on metal, their properties, and influences. (19) As usual in Arabic treatises, chemistry is mixed up with mineralogy and geology. (20)
Even in their purely chemical researches on transformation of metals, the Arab chemists achieved by no means unimportant results. In their efforts to discover Elixir they often discovered new chemical processes, and hit upon the catalytic properties of various substances. The pains, which they took in the search of gold, ultimately resulted in their great contribution to the development of modern chemistry.
The last important chemist of the 14th century was ‘Izz al-Din ‘Ali Ibn al- Jildaki. Some twenty treatises are ascribed to him. The list shows al-Jildaki’s great activity as a chemical writer. A complete study of his vast writings is necessary to know what he actually tried to establish. To some extent, this study was made by Ruska, Stapleton, Holm yard, and their disciples.
One of al-Jildaki’s important books entitled Nihâyat al-Talab fi Sharh al-Muktasab contains many quotations from the earlier works, and some novelties, as the use of nitric acid to extract silver out of the gold-silver alloy. Al- Jildaki remarked that the substances do not react except by definite weights. (21) This is one of the four fundamental laws of modern chemistry.
The ancient chemists applied their chemical knowledge to a large number of industrial arts. Only three such arts are mentioned here, which will enable the readers to estimate the extent of their knowledge of Applied Chemistry.
Paper:
Paper was invented by the Chinese who prepared it from the cocoon of the silkworm. Some specimens of Chinese paper extant date back to the second century A.C. The first manufacture of the paper outside China occurred in Samarqand (757). When Samarqand was captured by Arabs the manufacture of paper spread over the whole Arab world including the Maghrib. (Tunis, Morocco, Algiers).
By the end of the 12th century there were four hundred paper mills in Fasalone. In Spain the main centre of manufacture of paper was Shatiba which remained a ancient Arab city until 1239. Cordova was the centre of the business of paper in Spain.
The Arabs developed this art. They prepared paper not only from silk, but also from cotton, rags and wood.In the middle of the 10th century the paper industry was introduced in Spain. In Khurasan paper was made of linen.
There is an early treatise dealing with paper-making, the Umdat al-Kuttab wa ‘Uddatu dhawi’l-Albãb which is ascribed to the Amir al- Mu’izz’ Ibn Badis, a ruler of the Zayri dynasty (1015—61) in Tunis. The 11th chapter of this treatise, dealing with paper, has been edited, translated and elaborately discussed by the foremost student of Arabic paper, Josef Karabacek. This work explains how to prepare the pulp, make the sheets, wash and clean them, colour, polish and paste them, and give them an antique appearance. No text comparable to this in any other language of so early a date is known.
The preparation of pulp involves a large number of complicated chemical processes, which shows the advancement of the chemical knowledge of the Arabs and Egyptians at that time.
The manufacture of writing-paper in Spain is one of the most beneficial contributions of Arabs to Europe. Without paper the scale on which popular education in Europe developed would have not been possible. The preparation of paper from silk would have been impossible in Europe due to the lack of silk production there. The Arabs method of producing paper from cotton could only be useful for the Europeans. After Spain the art of paper-making was established in Italy (1268—76). France owed its first paper mills to ancient Spain. From these countries the industry spread throughout Europe.
Another type of paper; marbled paper, which was common upon end-papers, paper covers and edges of books, was prepared in the East, and exported to the West. About the preparation of marbled paper Roger Bacon tells us: “The Turks have a pretty art of chamoletting of paper, which is not with us in use. They take diverse oiled colours, and put them severally (in drops) upon water; and stirr the water lightly and then wet their paper (being of some thickness) with it, and the paper will be waved, and veined, like Chamolet or Marble’.
Books bound in the West towards the end of the 16th century are found with end-papers brought from the East, but it was not until about a century later that European binders began to make them themselves. Hand-made marbled papers are now rarely used, but more or less clumsily reproduced imitations still serve various purposes.
There is an Arabic word ‘rizma’ meaning a bundle of merchandise, which had been adopted in almost every Western language with slight variations to mean a bundle of paper (English: ream). This also testifies to the Arabic origin of that business in the West. (22)
Tiles :
The industry of tile-making which involves a large number of complex technical and chemical processes, was highly developed by Arabs. The earliest treatise, a Persian text, dealing with the manufacture of faience, was unique of its kind in world literature until the 16th century. It has been written by ‘Abd Allah Ibn ‘Ali Kàshàni in the 13th century. This book entitled Jawahir al-‘Arã’is Wa Aja’ib al-Nafä’is was written on precious stones and perfumes. It explains the manufacture of Faience, the ingredients (as clay, borax, feldspar, cobalt, lapis lazuli, lead, manganese, tin etc.), their mixtures, the kiln processes and implements, the methods of glazing and decorating. This treatise is similar to the various other treatises on precious stones written in Arabic and Persian. The final chapter deals with the art of enamelled pottery. This account is specially valuable because it is based on actual and traditional practice. The maker of the beautiful lustre ‘mihrab’ (arch) of the tomb of Imam Yahyã (now in the Hermitage, Leningrad), dated 1305 A.C., Yusuf Ibn ‘Ali Ibn Muhammad, was possibly a brother of the author. (23)
Ceramics:
The early history of Arabian and Egyptian ceramics has not so far been written. Many interesting specimens have been discovered in recent years which throw much light on the development of this industry in the Arab world. The centers of this industry were situated in Persia, Mesopotamia, Syria, Egypt and Valencia from where various types spread rapidly throughout the Islamic Caliphate.
Under Arabian influence the potters in these Centers revived old technical processes, developed new ones and began to experiment with decorative and ornamental schemes. The Arabian potters readily absorbed progressive ideas but at
the same time maintained great originality. Two types of pottery were in common use; enamelled and lustered. In enamelled pottery (the glazed earthenware) the Ancient s, from an early period, were expert masters. In lustered pottery also they made great progress. “In this the design is painted in a metallic salt on a glazed surface and fixed by firing in smike in a way that gives it a metallic gleam, which varies in different specimens from a bright copper-red to a greenish- yellow tint, and in some cases throws off brilliant iridescent reflections. (24)
In the last chapter of the Persian text Kitab al-Jawähir’ al-’Ara’is Wa ‘Ajã’ib al-Nafa’is, the author describes the techniques of glazing
with two fires (lustres), leaf building, over glaze decoration fired in a muffle kiln. (i.e.,
separated from the flame, the source of heat being outside), haf’t rang, a Persian term
referring to the seven colours of the planets. There may be a reference to the polychrome over glaze technique, the so called minai ware (another Persian term; mina-wash means lustre; mina coloured). The author indicates differences between the art as practiced in Kashan, Baghdad and Tabriz. In Baghdad and Tabriz other kinds of firewood and potash were used.
In the 15th century the Arabian ceramic art was followed by Italian potters, who obtained much of the mature technical knowledge from Arab sources. This technical knowledge proved to be helpful in the revival of ceramic art during the Renaissance. (25)
REFERENCES :-
1. Encyclopaedia Britannica, chicago, 1951, p.360
2. Ibid., p. 355.
3 Sarton George, Introduction to the History of Science, Washington, 1950, Vol I. p. 532.
4. Wasiti, Hakim Nayyar, Tibb al-’Arab ( ãn Urdu Translation of Arabian Medicine by Edward G. Browne), Lahore, 1954, p. 26.
5. Ibid.
6. Hãji Khalifah, Kashf al-Zunün, Istanbul, 1943. Vol., I, p. 1254.
Al-Zirakli, Khair al-Din, Al-’Alãm vol. II p. 342.
7. Sarton, op. cit., p. 559.
8. Ibid., p. 572. Al-Qifti, op. cit. p. 251.
9. Ibid., p. 271. Sarton, op. cit. p. 609.
10. lbid, p. 592.
11. lbid, p. 597.
12. Ibid., pp. 620, 668.
13. Ibid., p. 678.
14. Ibid., p. 681.
15 Ibid., p. 707.
16. Ibid, vol. II, part II, p. 650.
17. Ibn Khaldun, Muqaddimah, English translation by Frenz Rosenthal, London, 1957, vol. 3, p. 267.
18. Ibid. p. 278
19. Haji. Khalifah, op. cit. p. 1936.
20. Sarton, op. cit vol. III, part I, p. 759.
21. Ibid. Vol. II, Part. II, p. 1045.
22. Sarton, op. cit., Vol. III, Part I, p. 321.
23. Sarton, op. cit vol. III , part I, p. 756.
24 Arnold and Guillaume, op. cit. p. 125.
By: Md. Wasim Aktar
Md. Wasim Aktar* and M. Paramasivam
Deptt. of Agril. Chemicals, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India.
Abstracts
The modern chemistry is based on the findings and thinking of the people of historical age. If no one knows the base and work of the previous on a subject, he or she could mere develop a new thought or findings. For, a civilization must know its past. Hence, the present work is a small effort to find out the contribution of ancient Arabian and Egyptian scientists in the field of Chemistry. Different scientists of different school of thought, correlating different streams of science being Chemistry as a main subject, are described in the present work.
Chemistry deals with the composition and properties of substances and the changes of composition they undergo. It has been divided into Inorganic and Organic. The conception of this in modern Chemistry came from al-Rãzi’s classification of chemical substances into mineral, vegetable and animal. Inorganic Chemistry, deals with the preparation and properties of the elements, and their compounds, originally arose from the study of minerals and metals, whereas Organic Chemistry, which deals with carbon compounds, developed through the investigation of animal and plant products.
Prior to 1828 it was not possible to synthesize organic substances from their elements and, therefore, it was supposed that there existed fundamental difference between Organic and Inorganic Chemistry. In 1828 F. Wohler synthetically prepared urea, an organic substance; thereby revealing that there was no fundamental difference between these two branches of Chemistry. Since carbon compounds were numerous, their study separately made under Organic Chemistry, and study of elements and non-carbon compounds included in Inorganic Chemistry’. (1)
The earliest discoveries in Inorganic Chemistry were made in metallurgy, Materia Medica, painting, enameling, glazing, glass-making, arts, etc. These arts, and many metals, compounds and alloys were known to the Arabs. Similarly, the discoveries in Organic Chemistry were made in the arts of dyeing, tanning, the manufacture of paper, in the study of fats, both of plant and animal origin, in medicine, etc. Thus Chemistry had its sources in photo techniques, mineralogy, metallurgy, Materia Medica and decorative arts. It is the product of transmutation of baser metals into gold
and philosophical thoughts of practical or theoretical interest. Finally, it is the result of the study of the properties of the substances.
A Greek philosopher, Empedocles, held the view that all the four elements, air, water, earth and fire, were the primal elements, and that the various substances were made by their intermixing. He regarded them to be distinct and unchangeable. Aristotle considered these elements to be changeable i.e., one kind of matter could be changed into another kind. (2)
Jábir ibn Hayyãn (Liatinized as Geber), a great Arabian Chemist of the 8th century A.C., modified the Aristotelian doctrine of the four elements, and presented the so-called sulphur-mercury theory of metals. According to this theory metals differ essentially because of different proportions of sulphur and mercury in them. He also formulated the theory of geologic formation of metals.
Unlike his Greek predecessors, he did not merely speculate, but performed experiments to reach certain conclusions. He recognized and stated the importance of experimentation in Chemistry. He combined the theoretical knowledge of the Greeks and practical knowledge of the craftsmen, and himself made noteworthy advance both in the theory and practice of Chemistry.
Jâbir’s contribution to Chemistry is very great. He gave a scientific description of two principle operations of Chemistry. One of them is calcinations which is employed in the extraction of metals from their ores. The other is reduction which is employed in numerous chemical treatments. He improved upon the methods of evaporation, melting, distillation, sublimation and crystallization. These are the fundamental methods employed for the purification of chemical substances, enabling the chemist to study their properties and uses, and to prepare them. The process of distillation is particularly applied for taking extract of plant material.
In the opinion of Jàbir the cultivation of gold was not the only object of a chemist. The preparation of new chemical substances was also regarded by him as the chief object of Chemistry. We owe to him for the first preparation of such substances as arsenic and antimony from their sulphides, and basic lead carbonate. He also did important work in the preparation of steel, and the refinement of metals. Jàbir also deals with such applications as the use of manganese dioxide in glass-making, varnishes to water-proof cloth and protect iron use of iron pyrites for writing in gold and distillation of vinegar to concentrate acetic acid.
The most important discovery made by Jabir was the preparation of sulphuric acid. The importance of this discovery can be realized by the fact that in this modern age the extent of the industrial progress of a country is mostly judged by the amount of. sulphuric acid consumed in that country. Another important acid prepared by him was nitric acid which he obtained by distilling a mixture of alum (of Yemen) and copper sulphate (of Cyprus). Then by dissolving ammonium chloride into this acid, he prepared aqua regia which, unlike acids, could dissolve gold in it.
Jabir classified chemical substances, on the basis of some distinctive features, into bodies (gold, silver, etc.) and souls (mercury, sulphur, etc.) to make the study of their properties easier.
Jãbir is the author of a large number of books on chemistry and a book on astrolabe. About one hundred chemical works ascribed to him are extant. His fame chiefly rests on his chemical books preserved in Arabic. (3)
We find that the author recognized and stated clearly the importance of experimentation more clearly than any other early chemist. He remarkably sound views on methods of chemical research. It is impossible to reach definite conclusions regarding the extent of his contributions until all the Arabic writings ascribed to him have been properly edited and studied. But on the basis of our present knowledge, Jabir appears to be one of the greatest scientist whose influence can be traced throughout the whole period of the historical development of the Arabian and European chemistry. In the light of these facts it would not be improper to call Jãbir as the father of Chemistry.
Some of the chemical writings to which Jãbir’s name is attached were translated into Latin. The first such version, the Book of the Composition of Alchemy was made by Robert of Chester in 1144. The Kitab al-Sab’in (the book of the seventy) was translated by Gerard of Cremona in the 12th century’. The translation of the Sum of Perfection was made by Richard Russell. One of his books has been translated into French by Berthelot. (4)
Several technical terms have passed from Jãbir’s Arabic writings through Latin into the European languages. Among these are realgar (red sulphide of arsenic), tutia (zinc oxide), alkali, antimony, and alembic for distillation Vessel. The Arabic equivalents for the last three words are alqali, ithmad, and al-’anbiq respectively. (5)
Before Jãbir Ibn Hayyan, the Umayyad prince Khalid Ibn Yazid, who was a philosopher, poet and chemist, encouraged Greek philosophers in Egypt to translate Greek scientific works into Arabic. These were among the earliest translations in Arabic from other languages. He was himself deeply interested in medicine, astrology and chemistry. Many chemical works are ascribed to him. One of them is entitled Firdaus al-Hikmah fi’Ilm al-Kimiya. This work was in verse, and contained 2,315 couplets. (6)
An encyclopaedic scientist, and philosopher, Abu Yusuf Ya’qub al-Kindi considered the art of transformation of one metal into the other as an imposture. A few of ‘his numerous works dealing with many sciences are extant. One of his works is on pharmacy, a branch of applied chemistry. (7)
Chemistry was usually mixed up with mineralogy and geology. The oldest Arabian lapidary which may serve as an important source of chemistry was written by ‘Utärid Ibn Muhammad al-Hãsib who flourished in the ninth century. It deals with the properties of precious stones. (8)
In the same century Jãbir’s work was further advanced by al-Räzi who wrote many chemical treatises, and described a number of chemical instruments. One of his treatises consists of 25 pieces of chemical apparatus. He made investigations on specific gravity. One of his important works is on the art of transformation of baser metals into the noble ones. He applied his chemical knowledge for medical purposes, thus laying the foundation of Iatrochemistry. (9)
Other important chemists of this century were Dhu’l-Nün and al-Jàhiz. The former mostly dealt with the art of transmutation of metals. (10) The latter prepared ammonia from animal offals by dry distillation. (11)
In the tenth century Ibn Wahshiyah wrote on chemistry, His work may help to understand chemical symbolism. Maslamah Ibn Ahmad, an astronomer, mathematician and oculist of this century wrote two chemical works entitled, Rutbat al-Hakim and Ghãyat al-Hakim. The second is well known in the Latin translation made in 1252 by the order of King Alfonso under the title Picatrix. (12)
A Persian pharmacologist Abü Mansür Muwaffaq Ibn ‘Ali al-Harawi who flourished in Herat in the tenth century, was apparently the first to think of compiling a treatise on Materia Medica in Persian. He travelled extensively in Persia and India to obtain necessary information. He wrote, between 968 and 977, a book entitled Kitab al-Abniyah ‘an Haqã’iq al-Adwiyah. It contains Greek, Syrian, Arabian, Persian, and Indian knowledge. It deals with 585 remedies (of which 466 are derived from plants, 75 from minerals, and 44 from animals). He classified them into four groups according to their action, and gave the outline of a general pharmacological theory.
Abu Mansür distinguished between sodium carbonate (natrum) and potassium carbonate (qali). He had some knowledge of arsenious oxide, cupric oxide, silicic acid, antimony and so on. He knew the toxicological effects of copper and lead compounds, the depilatory virtue of quicklime, the composition of plaster of Paris and its surgical use. (13)
The greatest Arabian surgeon, Khalaf Ibn ‘Abbäs al-Zahrãwi (d. 1013) wrote a great medical encyclopaedia, al-Tasrif in 30 sections, which contains interesting methods of preparing drugs by sublimation and distillation, but its most important part is the surgical one. (14)
Abü Rayhan Muhammad al-Birüni (973—1048) took a great interest in the determination of the specific gravity of eighteen precious stones and metals. A voluminous unedited lapidary by al- Biruni is extant in unique manuscript in the Escorial Library. It contains a description of a great number of stones and metals from the natural, commercial, and medical point of view. Moreover, he composed a pharmacology (saydalah).Important information could certainly be obtained from his unedited works, on the origin of Indian and Chinese stones and drugs, which appeared in early Arabic scientific works. (15)
Ibn Sinà wrote a treatise on minerals, which was very important and one of the main sources of geological knowledge, also a source of chemistry in Western Europe until the Renaissance.
As mentioned before, mineralogy stood in close relation to chemistry. Nearly fifty Arabic lapidaries have been named. The best known of them is. the ‘Flowers of Knowledge of Stones’, by Shihàb al-Din al-Tifãshi (died in Cairo in 1154). It gives in 25 chapters extensive information on the subject of the same number of precious stones, their origin, geography, examination, purity, price, application for medicinal and magical purposes, and so on. Except for Pliny and the superior Aristotelian lapidary, he quotes only Arabic authors. (16)
The output of the books on Chemistry was very great after the eleventh century. Thus, there are known books of about forty Arabic and Persian chemists. Ibn Khaldun, (d. 1406) the talented Arabian philosopher of history and the greatest intellect of his century, was a violent opponent of the idea of transmutation of metals by chemical means. (17)
Some chemists thought that one metal can be transformed into another by artificial methods. For such transformation they followed different procedures depending on the character and form of the chemical treatment and the substance chosen for this purpose; the substance being called the ‘Noble Stone’ or ‘Philosopher’s Stone’. This may be excrements, or blood, or hair, or eggs, or anything else. After the substance has been specified, it is treated along certain lines mentioned in their books. The result is an earthen or fluid substance which is called Elixir. These chemists think that if Elixir is added to silver which has been heated in a fire, the silver turns into gold. If added to copper which had been heated in a fire, the copper turns into silver.
The question arises whether the metals are of specific differences, each constituting a distinct species, or whether they differ in certain properties and qualities and constitute different kinds of one and the same species?
Abü Nasr al-Färabi and his followers held the opinion that the difference in metals is caused by certain conditions such as humidity and dryness, softness and hardness, and colours such as yellow, white and black. According to him the metals are different kinds of one and the same species.
On the other hand, Ibn Sina and his followers believed that metals have specific differences and belong to different species, each of which has its own differential and genus, like all other species.
According to Abü Nasr al-Färãbi, it is possible to transform one metal into another, because it is possible to change their conditions.
“Ibn Sinà thought that such transformation was impossible. His assumption is based on the fact that specific differences in metals cannot be changed by artificial means. He believed that since the metals are created by the Creator and Determiner of things, God Almighty, and the mystery of their real character was utterly unknown and could not be perceived, any attempt for transformation would be meaningless”. (18)
Ancient Arabs’ art of transformation of metals was based upon Hellenistic and Iranian traditions, but apparently the main principles and the main operations were already established long before the 12th century. Before this century the Arabs had not only made many experiments, and produced several works on this art, but they had begun to doubt and criticise the most advanced theories concerning it. This proves that the standard of their chemical thinking was advanced.
The 12th and 13th centuries added very little to their knowledge about the transformation of metals, but their research continued in various fields. The main chemical writer of this age was Abu‘l-Qãsim Muhammad al-Iraqi who flourished in the second half of the 13th century. He was an experimenter and a theorist. His works represent the full development of the Arabic doctrine. (19)
The 14th century was an enlightened period when a group of intelligent writers began to reject the idea of transformation of metals by chemical means. One of such person was a historian, Rashid al-Din who described such chemical practice in Mongol Persia and expressed his distrust of such chemists. The large encyclopaedic work Nukhbat al-Dahr of al-Dimashqi contains, in part second, much information on metal, their properties, and influences. (19) As usual in Arabic treatises, chemistry is mixed up with mineralogy and geology. (20)
Even in their purely chemical researches on transformation of metals, the Arab chemists achieved by no means unimportant results. In their efforts to discover Elixir they often discovered new chemical processes, and hit upon the catalytic properties of various substances. The pains, which they took in the search of gold, ultimately resulted in their great contribution to the development of modern chemistry.
The last important chemist of the 14th century was ‘Izz al-Din ‘Ali Ibn al- Jildaki. Some twenty treatises are ascribed to him. The list shows al-Jildaki’s great activity as a chemical writer. A complete study of his vast writings is necessary to know what he actually tried to establish. To some extent, this study was made by Ruska, Stapleton, Holm yard, and their disciples.
One of al-Jildaki’s important books entitled Nihâyat al-Talab fi Sharh al-Muktasab contains many quotations from the earlier works, and some novelties, as the use of nitric acid to extract silver out of the gold-silver alloy. Al- Jildaki remarked that the substances do not react except by definite weights. (21) This is one of the four fundamental laws of modern chemistry.
The ancient chemists applied their chemical knowledge to a large number of industrial arts. Only three such arts are mentioned here, which will enable the readers to estimate the extent of their knowledge of Applied Chemistry.
Paper:
Paper was invented by the Chinese who prepared it from the cocoon of the silkworm. Some specimens of Chinese paper extant date back to the second century A.C. The first manufacture of the paper outside China occurred in Samarqand (757). When Samarqand was captured by Arabs the manufacture of paper spread over the whole Arab world including the Maghrib. (Tunis, Morocco, Algiers).
By the end of the 12th century there were four hundred paper mills in Fasalone. In Spain the main centre of manufacture of paper was Shatiba which remained a ancient Arab city until 1239. Cordova was the centre of the business of paper in Spain.
The Arabs developed this art. They prepared paper not only from silk, but also from cotton, rags and wood.In the middle of the 10th century the paper industry was introduced in Spain. In Khurasan paper was made of linen.
There is an early treatise dealing with paper-making, the Umdat al-Kuttab wa ‘Uddatu dhawi’l-Albãb which is ascribed to the Amir al- Mu’izz’ Ibn Badis, a ruler of the Zayri dynasty (1015—61) in Tunis. The 11th chapter of this treatise, dealing with paper, has been edited, translated and elaborately discussed by the foremost student of Arabic paper, Josef Karabacek. This work explains how to prepare the pulp, make the sheets, wash and clean them, colour, polish and paste them, and give them an antique appearance. No text comparable to this in any other language of so early a date is known.
The preparation of pulp involves a large number of complicated chemical processes, which shows the advancement of the chemical knowledge of the Arabs and Egyptians at that time.
The manufacture of writing-paper in Spain is one of the most beneficial contributions of Arabs to Europe. Without paper the scale on which popular education in Europe developed would have not been possible. The preparation of paper from silk would have been impossible in Europe due to the lack of silk production there. The Arabs method of producing paper from cotton could only be useful for the Europeans. After Spain the art of paper-making was established in Italy (1268—76). France owed its first paper mills to ancient Spain. From these countries the industry spread throughout Europe.
Another type of paper; marbled paper, which was common upon end-papers, paper covers and edges of books, was prepared in the East, and exported to the West. About the preparation of marbled paper Roger Bacon tells us: “The Turks have a pretty art of chamoletting of paper, which is not with us in use. They take diverse oiled colours, and put them severally (in drops) upon water; and stirr the water lightly and then wet their paper (being of some thickness) with it, and the paper will be waved, and veined, like Chamolet or Marble’.
Books bound in the West towards the end of the 16th century are found with end-papers brought from the East, but it was not until about a century later that European binders began to make them themselves. Hand-made marbled papers are now rarely used, but more or less clumsily reproduced imitations still serve various purposes.
There is an Arabic word ‘rizma’ meaning a bundle of merchandise, which had been adopted in almost every Western language with slight variations to mean a bundle of paper (English: ream). This also testifies to the Arabic origin of that business in the West. (22)
Tiles :
The industry of tile-making which involves a large number of complex technical and chemical processes, was highly developed by Arabs. The earliest treatise, a Persian text, dealing with the manufacture of faience, was unique of its kind in world literature until the 16th century. It has been written by ‘Abd Allah Ibn ‘Ali Kàshàni in the 13th century. This book entitled Jawahir al-‘Arã’is Wa Aja’ib al-Nafä’is was written on precious stones and perfumes. It explains the manufacture of Faience, the ingredients (as clay, borax, feldspar, cobalt, lapis lazuli, lead, manganese, tin etc.), their mixtures, the kiln processes and implements, the methods of glazing and decorating. This treatise is similar to the various other treatises on precious stones written in Arabic and Persian. The final chapter deals with the art of enamelled pottery. This account is specially valuable because it is based on actual and traditional practice. The maker of the beautiful lustre ‘mihrab’ (arch) of the tomb of Imam Yahyã (now in the Hermitage, Leningrad), dated 1305 A.C., Yusuf Ibn ‘Ali Ibn Muhammad, was possibly a brother of the author. (23)
Ceramics:
The early history of Arabian and Egyptian ceramics has not so far been written. Many interesting specimens have been discovered in recent years which throw much light on the development of this industry in the Arab world. The centers of this industry were situated in Persia, Mesopotamia, Syria, Egypt and Valencia from where various types spread rapidly throughout the Islamic Caliphate.
Under Arabian influence the potters in these Centers revived old technical processes, developed new ones and began to experiment with decorative and ornamental schemes. The Arabian potters readily absorbed progressive ideas but at
the same time maintained great originality. Two types of pottery were in common use; enamelled and lustered. In enamelled pottery (the glazed earthenware) the Ancient s, from an early period, were expert masters. In lustered pottery also they made great progress. “In this the design is painted in a metallic salt on a glazed surface and fixed by firing in smike in a way that gives it a metallic gleam, which varies in different specimens from a bright copper-red to a greenish- yellow tint, and in some cases throws off brilliant iridescent reflections. (24)
In the last chapter of the Persian text Kitab al-Jawähir’ al-’Ara’is Wa ‘Ajã’ib al-Nafa’is, the author describes the techniques of glazing
with two fires (lustres), leaf building, over glaze decoration fired in a muffle kiln. (i.e.,
separated from the flame, the source of heat being outside), haf’t rang, a Persian term
referring to the seven colours of the planets. There may be a reference to the polychrome over glaze technique, the so called minai ware (another Persian term; mina-wash means lustre; mina coloured). The author indicates differences between the art as practiced in Kashan, Baghdad and Tabriz. In Baghdad and Tabriz other kinds of firewood and potash were used.
In the 15th century the Arabian ceramic art was followed by Italian potters, who obtained much of the mature technical knowledge from Arab sources. This technical knowledge proved to be helpful in the revival of ceramic art during the Renaissance. (25)
REFERENCES :-
1. Encyclopaedia Britannica, chicago, 1951, p.360
2. Ibid., p. 355.
3 Sarton George, Introduction to the History of Science, Washington, 1950, Vol I. p. 532.
4. Wasiti, Hakim Nayyar, Tibb al-’Arab ( ãn Urdu Translation of Arabian Medicine by Edward G. Browne), Lahore, 1954, p. 26.
5. Ibid.
6. Hãji Khalifah, Kashf al-Zunün, Istanbul, 1943. Vol., I, p. 1254.
Al-Zirakli, Khair al-Din, Al-’Alãm vol. II p. 342.
7. Sarton, op. cit., p. 559.
8. Ibid., p. 572. Al-Qifti, op. cit. p. 251.
9. Ibid., p. 271. Sarton, op. cit. p. 609.
10. lbid, p. 592.
11. lbid, p. 597.
12. Ibid., pp. 620, 668.
13. Ibid., p. 678.
14. Ibid., p. 681.
15 Ibid., p. 707.
16. Ibid, vol. II, part II, p. 650.
17. Ibn Khaldun, Muqaddimah, English translation by Frenz Rosenthal, London, 1957, vol. 3, p. 267.
18. Ibid. p. 278
19. Haji. Khalifah, op. cit. p. 1936.
20. Sarton, op. cit vol. III, part I, p. 759.
21. Ibid. Vol. II, Part. II, p. 1045.
22. Sarton, op. cit., Vol. III, Part I, p. 321.
23. Sarton, op. cit vol. III , part I, p. 756.
24 Arnold and Guillaume, op. cit. p. 125.
By: Md. Wasim Aktar
Aug
12
How Can I Build Chemistry In My Current Relationship?
Filed Under Physical Chemistry | Leave a Comment
A lot of people are under the misconception that chemistry between two people happens automatically. Chances are real slim to create chemistry with someone when none exists in the first place or there\’s very little to work with.
The first thing you have to know is what exactly is chemistry.
It can be pretty difficult to find chemistry if you\’ve never had it with a person, but if you have had it with someone you know exactly what chemistry is. The idea that pops into your head or floats into your unconscious is one that makes you feel that the two of you should be together no matter what. It is something that tells you that this feels just right… perhaps you two were meant to be together.
It can begin with the feeling that the two of you feel completely at ease with each other, and that you two have an uncanny physical attraction toward each other. While this attraction might be due to each other\’s looks, physical looks, in reality it comes down to a mental game. Game is probably the wrong word to use… Let\’s just say it could be a condition of your mental state. It could come down to something as simple as each having the same pet peeves, each knowing what the other is going to say before they say it and so on. Having the same beliefs, even the same dreams of what the future will hold for you can be the start of the chemistry you\’re looking for.
To be honest, before creating chemistry with someone you need to spend time with them and create a relationship of some type with this person. Needless to say this goes beyond the first, second, or even third date and have once you have spent more time together.
Look for a good topic or even something that you both enjoy doing to give you good conversation to start with. Good conversation is the key…if you don\’t have it, chances are you won\’t get that chemistry simmering and moving up to a boil. Don\’t start with politics or religion…yes…it\’s just like our parents taught us not to speak of these issues outside the circle of good friends. Save those topics until you become better acquainted. You don\’t need a high-stress point when you just are getting started. Start with a topic or subject you both can have fun with.
One big thing - if you have a great sense of humor - use it! And, hope the other person has one also. Laughter can break down many walls and help people to bond much more easily. And..keep the humor clean and not obscene, and without prejudice. I guess that\’s pretty obvious.
One other thing that is obvious: act like yourself. Don\’t try to be someone you\’re not. To have true chemistry with someone they have to know the real you. Don\’t keep all your opinions to yourself. Make it a point to share some of your thoughts and feelings about important issues…these issues may be also be important your partner. It\’s all up to the way you converse with the person as to whether that elusive chemistry can begin simmering.
Try to plan exciting dates, studies have shown that couples who meet in exciting situations tend to find each other more attractive. This pattern works because the mind associates any excitement with the person we are with at the time and mistakes it for physical attraction. You can make use of this feeling by planning a date that will get the adrenaline pumping… a scary movie, take a roller coaster ride, or whatever would get each other\’s adrenaline boiling.
I\’m sure you heard about the tips to increase chemistry with someone by touching your date on the knee or arm early on in the date. Obviously you want to be very careful with doing something like that. Getting physical early on may just end up turning your partner off. Instead of doing that, talk about what physical features you find most attractive in the opposite sex and then using the information you get with your date\’s reply to your advantage.
Relationships and chemistry ago hand-in-hand, although they are mysterious and can be hard to control. You may be able to get the upper hand by being yourself, having a sense of humor and enjoying your date\’s company. Everything else should fall into place if the relationship is meant to be taken farther.
By: Ted Denton
The first thing you have to know is what exactly is chemistry.
It can be pretty difficult to find chemistry if you\’ve never had it with a person, but if you have had it with someone you know exactly what chemistry is. The idea that pops into your head or floats into your unconscious is one that makes you feel that the two of you should be together no matter what. It is something that tells you that this feels just right… perhaps you two were meant to be together.
It can begin with the feeling that the two of you feel completely at ease with each other, and that you two have an uncanny physical attraction toward each other. While this attraction might be due to each other\’s looks, physical looks, in reality it comes down to a mental game. Game is probably the wrong word to use… Let\’s just say it could be a condition of your mental state. It could come down to something as simple as each having the same pet peeves, each knowing what the other is going to say before they say it and so on. Having the same beliefs, even the same dreams of what the future will hold for you can be the start of the chemistry you\’re looking for.
To be honest, before creating chemistry with someone you need to spend time with them and create a relationship of some type with this person. Needless to say this goes beyond the first, second, or even third date and have once you have spent more time together.
Look for a good topic or even something that you both enjoy doing to give you good conversation to start with. Good conversation is the key…if you don\’t have it, chances are you won\’t get that chemistry simmering and moving up to a boil. Don\’t start with politics or religion…yes…it\’s just like our parents taught us not to speak of these issues outside the circle of good friends. Save those topics until you become better acquainted. You don\’t need a high-stress point when you just are getting started. Start with a topic or subject you both can have fun with.
One big thing - if you have a great sense of humor - use it! And, hope the other person has one also. Laughter can break down many walls and help people to bond much more easily. And..keep the humor clean and not obscene, and without prejudice. I guess that\’s pretty obvious.
One other thing that is obvious: act like yourself. Don\’t try to be someone you\’re not. To have true chemistry with someone they have to know the real you. Don\’t keep all your opinions to yourself. Make it a point to share some of your thoughts and feelings about important issues…these issues may be also be important your partner. It\’s all up to the way you converse with the person as to whether that elusive chemistry can begin simmering.
Try to plan exciting dates, studies have shown that couples who meet in exciting situations tend to find each other more attractive. This pattern works because the mind associates any excitement with the person we are with at the time and mistakes it for physical attraction. You can make use of this feeling by planning a date that will get the adrenaline pumping… a scary movie, take a roller coaster ride, or whatever would get each other\’s adrenaline boiling.
I\’m sure you heard about the tips to increase chemistry with someone by touching your date on the knee or arm early on in the date. Obviously you want to be very careful with doing something like that. Getting physical early on may just end up turning your partner off. Instead of doing that, talk about what physical features you find most attractive in the opposite sex and then using the information you get with your date\’s reply to your advantage.
Relationships and chemistry ago hand-in-hand, although they are mysterious and can be hard to control. You may be able to get the upper hand by being yourself, having a sense of humor and enjoying your date\’s company. Everything else should fall into place if the relationship is meant to be taken farther.
By: Ted Denton
Aug
11
How does enantiomorphosis come to mean (via Canneti) prohibitions on becoming in Deleuze and Guattari?
Filed Under Physical Chemistry | 1 Comment
If an enantiomorph in crystallography / physical chemistry indicates a mirror image kind of symmetry between two crystals, then how do DG (via Canneti) recast enantiomorphosis as a death-dealing operation?
OK… so a crystal is formed in the image of another (only in reverse of the original). This formation somehow prohibits the matter of the formed crystal from becoming something else / taking a different form? Is that it?
By: nomadologist
OK… so a crystal is formed in the image of another (only in reverse of the original). This formation somehow prohibits the matter of the formed crystal from becoming something else / taking a different form? Is that it?
By: nomadologist
Aug
11
HSC Physics
Filed Under Physical Chemistry | Leave a Comment
Why choose HSC Physics
HSC Physics can be one of the most rewarding HSC subjects that is widely and commonly available across schools in NSW. HSC Physics tends to appeal to students with an interest for quantitative subjects like mathematics. In fact, if one is to try to define physics, it would be applied 2 unit maths. The mathematics in physics is certainly not difficult, but the problems in Physics are structured in terms of real-world applications. Therefore students who have a keen interest in the physical world and the theory behind its behavior are advised to take physics.
In terms of scaling, HSC physics has always scaled quite decently. Traditionally and in recent years, physics has had a scaled mean of about 29/50, meaning it scales slightly under HSC Chemistry, English Advanced and Economics. However physics has always scaled significantly better than biology, which is convenient since HSC Physics and Chemistry has always had a synergy about them. They are to a large extent similar courses, both requiring a similar skillset from students who want to do well. However, unlike HSC Chemistry, Physics is less experience-based, as there are less things upon which we need to refer to repeatedly throughout the course. ( For example, in Chemistry, we had to know the common valencies, solubility rules, how to name carbon compounds etc)
Instead, Physics requires more of an ability to imagine things yourself and conduct what we call ‘thought experiments’ in your own mind in order to understand the concepts taught in the course. This is more of a skill rather than a set of knowledge. For example, to gain a solid grasp of Einstein’s theory of special relativity and the associated equations, it is all about your ability to get your head around how time dilation operates in different frames, and in relation to each other. While theory helps and rote-learning the method of applying the equations, this approach is limited in its usefulness since slightly tricky exam questions can easily throw you off.
How to master HSC Physics
To get better at HSC Physics, since many things are very abstract and conceptual (e.g. to understand how an induction motor actually works, or Einstein’s equations of time and mass dilation, or the cause of striation patterns in vacuum tubes), it is a good idea to ask a teacher or tutor as many questions as possible. That means whenever there is some concept that you don’t understand, or even a tiny point within a wider concept, don’t leave it alone. You should ask all questions until you have a concrete understanding of the concept in question before moving on.
A good way is to constantly test your own knowledge by connecting all the related concepts together and seeing if there are any contradictions that a revealed by connecting up what you know. This is because physics is very conceptual in nature, and slightly different to the other sciences (Chemistry and Biology). Physics revolves around understanding abstract concepts, most of which can not be experimentally tested within a school lab, and some concepts can never be properly experimentally tested (e.g. whether the luminiferous aether really exists).
Successful physics students have a great ability to conduct thought experiments. What this involves is essentially testing out an idea in your mind, following physical rules you have learnt, to see whether you arrive at a conclusion that is absurd, or plausible. It’s difficult to truly understand this technique and to what extent we use it when thinking about concepts in Physics, but it is a good habit to always do this in order to verify and test your own understanding.
Good students would also have the ability to unify their understanding of various seemingly unrelated topics. One thing unique about HSC physics as opposed to other HSC sciences is that its topics are all latently linked, and based on a common set of fundamental physical principles. What we mean by ‘latent’ is that these links are not immediately visible, and the ability to draw these links is what separates a student who gets 95+ in their HSC mark, versus a student who doesn’t. For example, the same set of rules apply to forces on a cathode ray as those that are responsible for the motor effect. And it is the same principle (electromagnetic induction) which explains why magnetars (if you do Astrophysics) have such intense magnetic fields. This is the same line of thought that led Sir Isaac Newton to conclude that it is the force of gravity which keeps the Moon in a circular or bit around the Earth.
Different ways of thinking about one concept
For example, think of an induction motor: we are all taught by teachers that such a motor works because the squirrel cage ‘chases’ the spinning magnetic field, citing Lenz’s law. However what if you totally ignore your knowledge about Lenz’s law, can you try to explain how an induction motor works solely by using the right-hand push rule? Well actually you can, because as the magnetic field sweeps past a part of the squirrel cage, that’s like having a current move towards the opposite direction, which imparts a force along the cage onto the positive charge carriers as per the direction of your palm. This dictates the induced current flow, and if you then shift your thumb to point towards this current, you’ll notice the palm now points towards the direction the magnetic field was moving towards. In effect, the cage actually does ‘chase’ the field, however as you can see, we can explain it in terms of first principles rather than rely on sweeping statements like ‘induction motors work because of Lenz’s law’.
Another practical example highlighting the same point is attempting to explain the concept of an event horizon in terms of escape velocity. Without going into too much detail, recall that there is a formula to find escape velocity from a body of mass, and that it is inversely proportional to r, the distance from the centre of that mass. For black holes, since mass is all focused within a singularity of infinite density, there comes a point where r is sufficiently small that escape velocity reaches, then exceeds c, the speed of light. At the point where r makes the escape velocity exactly equal to the speed of light, this defines the boundary of the event horizon, beyond which no information can escape. If we further decrease r (i.e. get closer to the black hole), by then the calculated escape velocity exceeds c, and from Einstein’s mass dilation equations, this could never physically be achieved. Therefore this is a more practical and unified way of thinking about the concept of black holes and why they have an event horizon.
As a student aiming for 95+ (HSC aligned mark) in HSC Physics, without a doubt, your depth of knowledge, and the extent of drawing connections between your conceptual understanding, will determine whether you will reach your goal of 95+. That is, your ability to unify your understanding of the various topics of physics will help you significantly when it comes to showing depth in your understanding in exam responses.
By: Amarendra
HSC Physics can be one of the most rewarding HSC subjects that is widely and commonly available across schools in NSW. HSC Physics tends to appeal to students with an interest for quantitative subjects like mathematics. In fact, if one is to try to define physics, it would be applied 2 unit maths. The mathematics in physics is certainly not difficult, but the problems in Physics are structured in terms of real-world applications. Therefore students who have a keen interest in the physical world and the theory behind its behavior are advised to take physics.
In terms of scaling, HSC physics has always scaled quite decently. Traditionally and in recent years, physics has had a scaled mean of about 29/50, meaning it scales slightly under HSC Chemistry, English Advanced and Economics. However physics has always scaled significantly better than biology, which is convenient since HSC Physics and Chemistry has always had a synergy about them. They are to a large extent similar courses, both requiring a similar skillset from students who want to do well. However, unlike HSC Chemistry, Physics is less experience-based, as there are less things upon which we need to refer to repeatedly throughout the course. ( For example, in Chemistry, we had to know the common valencies, solubility rules, how to name carbon compounds etc)
Instead, Physics requires more of an ability to imagine things yourself and conduct what we call ‘thought experiments’ in your own mind in order to understand the concepts taught in the course. This is more of a skill rather than a set of knowledge. For example, to gain a solid grasp of Einstein’s theory of special relativity and the associated equations, it is all about your ability to get your head around how time dilation operates in different frames, and in relation to each other. While theory helps and rote-learning the method of applying the equations, this approach is limited in its usefulness since slightly tricky exam questions can easily throw you off.
How to master HSC Physics
To get better at HSC Physics, since many things are very abstract and conceptual (e.g. to understand how an induction motor actually works, or Einstein’s equations of time and mass dilation, or the cause of striation patterns in vacuum tubes), it is a good idea to ask a teacher or tutor as many questions as possible. That means whenever there is some concept that you don’t understand, or even a tiny point within a wider concept, don’t leave it alone. You should ask all questions until you have a concrete understanding of the concept in question before moving on.
A good way is to constantly test your own knowledge by connecting all the related concepts together and seeing if there are any contradictions that a revealed by connecting up what you know. This is because physics is very conceptual in nature, and slightly different to the other sciences (Chemistry and Biology). Physics revolves around understanding abstract concepts, most of which can not be experimentally tested within a school lab, and some concepts can never be properly experimentally tested (e.g. whether the luminiferous aether really exists).
Successful physics students have a great ability to conduct thought experiments. What this involves is essentially testing out an idea in your mind, following physical rules you have learnt, to see whether you arrive at a conclusion that is absurd, or plausible. It’s difficult to truly understand this technique and to what extent we use it when thinking about concepts in Physics, but it is a good habit to always do this in order to verify and test your own understanding.
Good students would also have the ability to unify their understanding of various seemingly unrelated topics. One thing unique about HSC physics as opposed to other HSC sciences is that its topics are all latently linked, and based on a common set of fundamental physical principles. What we mean by ‘latent’ is that these links are not immediately visible, and the ability to draw these links is what separates a student who gets 95+ in their HSC mark, versus a student who doesn’t. For example, the same set of rules apply to forces on a cathode ray as those that are responsible for the motor effect. And it is the same principle (electromagnetic induction) which explains why magnetars (if you do Astrophysics) have such intense magnetic fields. This is the same line of thought that led Sir Isaac Newton to conclude that it is the force of gravity which keeps the Moon in a circular or bit around the Earth.
Different ways of thinking about one concept
For example, think of an induction motor: we are all taught by teachers that such a motor works because the squirrel cage ‘chases’ the spinning magnetic field, citing Lenz’s law. However what if you totally ignore your knowledge about Lenz’s law, can you try to explain how an induction motor works solely by using the right-hand push rule? Well actually you can, because as the magnetic field sweeps past a part of the squirrel cage, that’s like having a current move towards the opposite direction, which imparts a force along the cage onto the positive charge carriers as per the direction of your palm. This dictates the induced current flow, and if you then shift your thumb to point towards this current, you’ll notice the palm now points towards the direction the magnetic field was moving towards. In effect, the cage actually does ‘chase’ the field, however as you can see, we can explain it in terms of first principles rather than rely on sweeping statements like ‘induction motors work because of Lenz’s law’.
Another practical example highlighting the same point is attempting to explain the concept of an event horizon in terms of escape velocity. Without going into too much detail, recall that there is a formula to find escape velocity from a body of mass, and that it is inversely proportional to r, the distance from the centre of that mass. For black holes, since mass is all focused within a singularity of infinite density, there comes a point where r is sufficiently small that escape velocity reaches, then exceeds c, the speed of light. At the point where r makes the escape velocity exactly equal to the speed of light, this defines the boundary of the event horizon, beyond which no information can escape. If we further decrease r (i.e. get closer to the black hole), by then the calculated escape velocity exceeds c, and from Einstein’s mass dilation equations, this could never physically be achieved. Therefore this is a more practical and unified way of thinking about the concept of black holes and why they have an event horizon.
As a student aiming for 95+ (HSC aligned mark) in HSC Physics, without a doubt, your depth of knowledge, and the extent of drawing connections between your conceptual understanding, will determine whether you will reach your goal of 95+. That is, your ability to unify your understanding of the various topics of physics will help you significantly when it comes to showing depth in your understanding in exam responses.
By: Amarendra
Aug
10
Discover Incredible Antioxidant Face Cream Organic Ingredients
Filed Under Biochemistry | Leave a Comment
If you are like me, you’ve probably read a label or two for an organic face cream and it definitely lists the ingredients that were used to create it. Still, an examination of those ingredients might not lead to discovery of these words “antioxidant,” “face cream,” “organic.” Despite that fact, the literature on organic facial products makes it clear that antioxidants enhance the natural biochemistry of skin cells any where on the body.
Sometimes, the makers of an organic face cream post their product ingredients online. Upon viewing that posting, an Internet surfer has a better chance for finding one or more of these three words: “antioxidant,” “face cream,” “organic.” In addition, that Internet surfer might note mention in the online information of several natural ingredients.
Anyone who has asked a search engine to unearth online information about a facial cream with organic ingredients might run across a website that makes mention of deionized water. Such water is used by scientific researchers, scientists who want to limit the number of variables in any experiment. Today, a number of skin care products contain deionized water.
Anyone who has typed the word “facial care” into a search engine has no doubt arrived at a website that has listed a number of sweet smelling oils. Substances such as avocado oil, wheat germ oil and virgin olive oil have long been used in facial masks. Today those substances are used in certain creams for the face.
By studying the ingredients in an organic face cream, one can also understand how ancient women managed to retain such smooth skin. Some of those women mashed together foods such as melon, carrot, avocado and banana, and then they added that mix to a combination of honey and yogurt. Those women had never heard the word “antioxidant.”
Organic face cream was also a term that was unfamiliar to ancient women. Through trial and error those women discovered how to care for the skin on their face. The women of Japan discovered that by eating sea kelp named Wakame they could hold-off the natural aging of facial skin cells.
Wakame contains an antioxidant. It has the ability to interfere with a certain chain reaction. That chain reaction has been linked to free radical damage in skin cells. When endothelial cells are nourished by an antioxidant, then they resist the damage that would otherwise result from the presence of free radials in those same cells.
Today, some of the most effective skin care products contain the age-defying ingredient that has been extracted from Japanese sea kelp. The Japanese women who lived in ancient times knew nothing about the biochemistry of the body’s endothelial cells. Those women had never heard the word “collagen” or “elastin.”
Today, smart women are learning about collagen and elastin. What are collagen and elastin, and how do those chemicals have a place in the arena of organic face cream? Collagen is a protein, a protein that is found in top quality skin care products. Due to its fibrous nature, collagen can provide a living cell with added strength. When cells have the ability to produce collagen, then those cells can remain firm to the touch. Those cells do not sag; they do not cause the formation of wrinkles.
Elastin, too, is a protein found in all healthy skin. When skin manufactures elastin then skin cells demonstrate a natural flexibility. Healthy skin cells can return to their original location, after they have been pushed or stretched.
A young adult has a countenance that glows, because his or her face contains healthy skin cells. When provided with the proper treatment, aging skin can take on the vitality of more youthful skin. An older face can thus be as glowing as a younger face.
By: Laurel Levine
Sometimes, the makers of an organic face cream post their product ingredients online. Upon viewing that posting, an Internet surfer has a better chance for finding one or more of these three words: “antioxidant,” “face cream,” “organic.” In addition, that Internet surfer might note mention in the online information of several natural ingredients.
Anyone who has asked a search engine to unearth online information about a facial cream with organic ingredients might run across a website that makes mention of deionized water. Such water is used by scientific researchers, scientists who want to limit the number of variables in any experiment. Today, a number of skin care products contain deionized water.
Anyone who has typed the word “facial care” into a search engine has no doubt arrived at a website that has listed a number of sweet smelling oils. Substances such as avocado oil, wheat germ oil and virgin olive oil have long been used in facial masks. Today those substances are used in certain creams for the face.
By studying the ingredients in an organic face cream, one can also understand how ancient women managed to retain such smooth skin. Some of those women mashed together foods such as melon, carrot, avocado and banana, and then they added that mix to a combination of honey and yogurt. Those women had never heard the word “antioxidant.”
Organic face cream was also a term that was unfamiliar to ancient women. Through trial and error those women discovered how to care for the skin on their face. The women of Japan discovered that by eating sea kelp named Wakame they could hold-off the natural aging of facial skin cells.
Wakame contains an antioxidant. It has the ability to interfere with a certain chain reaction. That chain reaction has been linked to free radical damage in skin cells. When endothelial cells are nourished by an antioxidant, then they resist the damage that would otherwise result from the presence of free radials in those same cells.
Today, some of the most effective skin care products contain the age-defying ingredient that has been extracted from Japanese sea kelp. The Japanese women who lived in ancient times knew nothing about the biochemistry of the body’s endothelial cells. Those women had never heard the word “collagen” or “elastin.”
Today, smart women are learning about collagen and elastin. What are collagen and elastin, and how do those chemicals have a place in the arena of organic face cream? Collagen is a protein, a protein that is found in top quality skin care products. Due to its fibrous nature, collagen can provide a living cell with added strength. When cells have the ability to produce collagen, then those cells can remain firm to the touch. Those cells do not sag; they do not cause the formation of wrinkles.
Elastin, too, is a protein found in all healthy skin. When skin manufactures elastin then skin cells demonstrate a natural flexibility. Healthy skin cells can return to their original location, after they have been pushed or stretched.
A young adult has a countenance that glows, because his or her face contains healthy skin cells. When provided with the proper treatment, aging skin can take on the vitality of more youthful skin. An older face can thus be as glowing as a younger face.
By: Laurel Levine