history of chemistry essay 300 words

chemistry: History of Chemistry

• History of Chemistry

The earliest practical knowledge of chemistry was concerned with metallurgy , pottery, and dyes; these crafts were developed with considerable skill, but with no understanding of the principles involved, as early as 3500 b.c. in Egypt and Mesopotamia. The basic ideas of element and compound were first formulated by the Greek philosophers during the period from 500 to 300 b.c. Opinion varied, but it was generally believed that four elements (fire, air, water, and earth) combined to form all things. Aristotle's definition of a simple body as “one into which other bodies can be decomposed and which itself is not capable of being divided” is close to the modern definition of element.

About the beginning of the Christian era in Alexandria, the ancient Egyptian industrial arts and Greek philosophical speculations were fused into a new science. The beginnings of chemistry, or alchemy , as it was first known, are mingled with occultism and magic. Interests of the period were the transmutation of base metals into gold, the imitation of precious gems, and the search for the elixir of life, thought to grant immortality. Muslim conquests in the 7th cent. a.d. diffused the remains of Hellenistic civilization to the Arab world. The first chemical treatises to become well known in Europe were Latin translations of Arabic works, made in Spain c. a.d. 1100; hence it is often erroneously supposed that chemistry originated among the Arabs. Alchemy developed extensively during the Middle Ages, cultivated largely by itinerant scholars who wandered over Europe looking for patrons.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Organic Chemistry and the Modern Era
• Impact of the Atomic Theory
• Evolution of Modern Chemistry
• Branches of Chemistry
• Bibliography

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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The Chemical Revolution in the History of Chemistry Essay

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Chemical revolution involved the conceptual change which followed the development of the oxygen theory by Lavoisier that replaced the then popular phlogiston theory. Several factors contributed to this revolution including Priestley and Cavendish experiments, which proved that air is a mixture of gases rather than a single element as the then conventional understanding.

The improvement in communication of scientific findings increased public interest in chemistry and contributed to the replacement of the old concepts with new concepts.

This paper will examine the traditional scientific concepts including the much celebrated phlogiston theory of early 18 th century and relate it with Lavoisier’s new approach. Initially, Lavoisier’s aim was to seek new interpretation of the existing concepts but his discovery led to replacement of the phlogiston theory.

The phlogiston theory was popular and universal in the 18 th century and this limited the development of new concepts. However, Perrin notes that, “Lavoisier’s quest for reinterpretation of ideas built on concepts of earlier investigators; Boyle and Mayow, led to the oxygen theory” (54).

Phlogiston theory was a major achievement from the traditional theoretical principles since the phlogiston could be chemically established.

The starting point of chemical revolution involved the phlogiston theory, which held that combustion of substances released a phlogiston. This theory also explained the converse process of calcinations. The fact that the concepts of this theory were not a mere speculation but had experimental evidence, made the theory popular and universally accepted in early 18 th century.

Even Lavoisier submitted to the universality of this theory before his experiments led to a new discovery. Towards the end of the 18 th century, many substances were identifiable in laboratory and the new Lavoisier concepts led to the replacement of the phlogiston theory.

Many factors contributed to the popularity of the phlogiston theory in the early 18 th century. Before the phlogiston theory, it was believed that substances released the principle of inflammability when undergoing combustion and metals lost a metallic principle when undergoing calcinations.

Stahl experimentally identified the metallic principle and inflammability principles making his phlogiston theory popular. He was also able to make sulfur from its combustion products hence reversing the combustion process. Other concepts popular in the 18 th century included the Etienne-Francois concepts regarding the reactivity of substances with each other and the rate of reactions.

Stahl developed the affinity tables where elements were arranged based on their reactivity which allowed a systematic study of reactions and identification of new elements.

However, some “British investigators led by Henry Cavendish and Joseph Priestley followed the isolation, identification of the properties and effects of the various components of air” (Perrin 71).

The major debate during this period especially in France revolved around the composition of air contained within bodies and its role. Some researchers believed that air was physically trapped within bodies while others argued that air is chemically combined in bodies like Gabriele-Françoise Venel.

Still others like Johann Theodor Eller held the view that decomposition produced the air trapped in the bodies. Nevertheless, in the midst of all these debates and ‘confusions’, Lavoisier’s experiments avoided the concepts of phlogiston theory and the affinity concepts laid down by earlier scientists.

Several factors contributed to Lavoisier’s success in coming up with new concepts to rival the phlogiston theory. His extensive reading of other scientists work coupled with inquisitiveness enabled him to note the differences between the findings and to design new experiments. He was also keen on the use of instruments to increase the accuracy of the results obtained from physical experiments.

He was able to dispute the conventional hypothesis held by chemists that solutions of air made up vapor and instead proposed that an igneous fluid was responsible for turning water into steam. He opposed Stahl’s view that air cannot be compressed to fit into a specific body, by proposing that compressed air occupies less space.

Lavoisier used quantitative physical methods that were not employed by researchers of the time, which allowed him to obtain reliable and accurate results. He kept records and data collected from scientific experiments such as thermometer and barometer readings. In addition, he used quantitative methods involving weight measurements that allowed him to relate the weight of reactants and products in his experiments.

From earlier Lavoisier’s experiments, it is evident that use of quantitative methods and the earlier concepts concerning air allowed Lavoisier to develop the oxygen theory that immensely contributed to chemical revolution. However, his efforts at the start of his experiments were primarily to increase the understanding of the existing concepts rather than to replace them. Later, after more discovery and innovations he disputed the phlogiston theory causing a major conceptual change.

In 1774, Lavoisier studied the residue formed after combustion of mercury called the ‘red precipitate’. According McEnvoy, the phlogiston theory postulated that metals emitted a phlogiston during combustion leaving behind a residue (calx) (311). Lavoisier established that the red precipitate when heated decomposed into metallic mercury without the addition of charcoal as earlier suggested by Stahl.

This presented a serious limitation of the phlogiston theory since the phlogistons were not involved in the calcinations process. The developments in Lavoisier’s experiments presented many anomalies regarding the concepts of the phlogiston theory. In the beginning, the weight increase though experimentally established, could not be attributed to addition of air during combustion and calcinations.

Still, the phlogiston theory was still relevant since there were no alternative concepts to explain these observations. The emergence of many alternative concepts by Lavoisier that produced anomalous results to the phlogiston theory led to the development of an alternative theory to replace the phlogiston theory.

In producing the new theory, Lavoisier established experimental evidence in support of his new concepts, which at the same time attacked the older doctrines of Stahl. This phenomenon comes out clearly in the late 1770s when Lavoisier produced experimental evidence that disputed the concepts of phlogiston theory while increasing strength of his oxygen theory.

During the same period, Lavoisier and Laplace innovated methods of quantitative measurement of heat, which allowed them to estimate the specific heats released by substances undergoing combustion. Lavoisier was now able to include these findings into his oxygen theory making it more understood.

An important discovery by Lavoisier that triggered the chemical revolution was the discovery of oxygen gas. Other researchers like Pierre Bayen in 1774, were able to isolate oxygen by heating mercury oxide but identified it as carbon dioxide. Joseph Priestley also managed to isolate the same gas but identified it as nitrogen (Perrin 67).

However, in 1775, Lavoisier, isolated and identified oxygen gas. He further noted that the gas was one of the components of atmospheric air thus contradicting the earlier concepts that the atmospheric air is homogeneous. This among other discoveries was revolutionary in chemistry.

Works Cited

McEnvoy, John. The Revolutionary Identity and the Chemical Revolution, 1993 . Web.

Perrin, Chris. “Research Traditions, Lavoisier and the Chemical Revolution.” Osiris 2.4 (1988): 53-81.

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IvyPanda. (2018, May 28). The Chemical Revolution in the History of Chemistry. https://ivypanda.com/essays/chemical-revolution/

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IvyPanda . 2018. "The Chemical Revolution in the History of Chemistry." May 28, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/chemical-revolution/.

1. IvyPanda . "The Chemical Revolution in the History of Chemistry." May 28, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/chemical-revolution/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "The Chemical Revolution in the History of Chemistry." May 28, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/chemical-revolution/.

History of Chemistry

Between 1901 and 2020, the Nobel Prize has been 112 times to 186 Laureates in chemistry history. Some of the winners of this price include Jennifer Doudna, Emmanuelle Charpentier, and Stanley Whittingham. Frances Arnold, Jacobus Henricus Van etc. In this paper, I will focus on Frances Arnold, who won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2018 for pioneering the use of directed evolution to develop enzymes with improved novel function.

Frances Arnold is an American chemical engineer and Nobel Prize Laureate born on July 25, 1956. At the California Institute of Technology, she is the Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Engineering, Biochemistry and Bioengineering. In 1978, she received a Nobel Prize for founding the usage of directed evolution to engineer enzymes. She grew up in the neighbourhoods of Shadyside and Squirrel Hill and graduated from Taylor Allderdice high school. In 1979, she graduated from the University of Princeton with a mechanical and aerospace degree focused on solar energy research. After graduating from Princeton University, she worked for Colorado’s solar energy Research Institute and then later joined California University in Berkeley, where she acquired a PH.D. degree in Chemical engineering in 1985. Her interest in biochemistry grew so much after attaining her degree. Since then, she has worked with various companies like Gevo, Inc. Company, Santa Fe Institute, National Academy of sciences and Entertainment exchange. In 2019, Frances Arnold was named to the board of Alphabet Inc., making her the third female of the Google parent company director.

The research that won Arnold a Nobel Prize in chemistry’s history was on Enzymes’ directed evolution. Between 1980 and 1990, the study that applied enzymes to catalyze chemical reactions was hard as the usual methodology required identifying the initial principles of modifying an enzyme. Arnold came in and decided to use the method of evolution. She changed the enzyme subtilisin E, which breaks down the protein casein to make it function in the solvent dimethylformamide as an alternative of a cell’s watery surroundings. She introduced various arbitrary mutations into the genetic code of bacteria that created subtilisin E. She presented her mutated enzymes into a setting that had both casein and DMF. Wrublewski (2019) explains that Arnold chose the new enzyme to break down casein in DMF and presented arbitrary mutations into that enzyme. She finally come up with a mutated subtilisin E after three such generations that were many times better at breaking down casein in DMF than the original. Together with her co-workers, Arnold protracted the procedure of directed enzyme evolution to modify enzymes for reactions that no enzyme had catalyzed earlier. They were similarly able to evolve enzymes to create elements with bonds that hardly happen in biology (Fahlman, 2018).

The Nobel Prizes’ main aim is to reward people who have made significant steps towards bringing a positive change in the world. For a person like Frances Arnold to be considered the winner of the Nobel Prize, there is a followed procedure. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has the role of selecting qualifying candidates and choosing the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates (Partington, 2016). The candidates eligible for the Peace Prize are those nominated by qualified individuals. Invitation letters are first sent out to persons qualified to select like the university chancellors, leaders of research institutes etc. They are given a deadline for submission, which is not later than February 1 every year. The committee evaluates the work of the candidates and develops a shorter list. The shortlist is reviewed by permanent advisors and those hired because of their knowledge about some candidates. The Nobel committee chooses the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates through a common vote, whose names are then mentioned. Lastly, the Nobel Laureates receive their prices during the Price Award Ceremony that occurs on December 10th. The prize contains the Nobel Medal and Diploma, and a certificate is ratifying the aggregate of the award.

There are various Nobel Prize winners in the history of Chemistry. However, I decided to write about Frances Arnold because she is among the few women who have worked so hard to change the world positively. She is the third woman to receive a Nobel Prize in the history of chemistry. Throughout her work, she displayed an independence trait by coming up with creative solutions to problems and her questions. She is also a good role model who inspires scientists’ next generation to keep working hard despite the challenges faced.

This assignment has given me a better and broader understanding of chemistry’s history. I have learned the various challenges researchers faced and how they applied different chemistry techniques to solve them. There various things that can be done differently to improve the future of chemistry even better. For instance, more research should be conducted to provide solutions to multiple problems in chemistry (Fahlman, 2018). The basis of awarding the Nobel Prize should be made tighter in chemistry to make researchers work extra hard to come up with many important inventions that can positively change the world.

Fahlman, B. D. (2018). What is “materials chemistry”?. In  Materials chemistry  (pp. 1-21). Springer, Dordrecht.

Partington, J. R. (2016).  History of Chemistry . Macmillan International Higher Education.

Wrublewski, D. T. (2019). Analysis for Science Librarians of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Directed Evolution of Enzymes and Phage Display of Peptides and Antibodies.  Science & Technology Libraries ,  38 (1), 51-69.

Zeymer, C. (2019). Directed Evolution of Selective Enzymes: Catalysts for Organic Chemistry and Biotechnology. By Manfred T. Reetz.  ChemBioChem ,  20 (3), 415-416.

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Essay on Aryabhatta for Students and Children

500+ words essay on aryabhatta.

Essay on Arayabhatta – Aryabhatta was the first Indian mathematician and astronomer. He had immense knowledge in the field of mathematics. Moreover, he did he may discoveries during his era. For instance, some of them were the discovery of algebraic identities, trigonometrical functions, the value of pi, Place value system, etc.

Furthermore, he wrote many books which still help us in performing various calculations. Aryabhatta was a great influence to many youngsters. For he excelled in academics from a very early age. Moreover, he contributed much to the society his works and theories are still remembered and honored till date.

The Early Life of Aryabhatta

Aryabhatta was born in 475 A.D. Furthermore his birthplace eas not sure, but in his book the ‘Aryabhatiya’, he mentions that he was a native of Kusumapura the modern-day Patna. Moreover, from his historical records, the archaeologists believed that he continued his further studies in Kusumapura. Because in Kusumapura his major astronomical observatory was located.

Therefore, we can ascertain that Aryabhatta spent most of the time there. Further, some historians believe that he was also the head of Nalanda University in Kusumpura. Though these theories are all on a probable basis because no proper evidence was there except the books Arybhatta wrote in his lifetime. Yet some of his records were lost and are not found till date.

Work of Aryabhatta

Aryabhatta contributed greatly to the field of mathematics. For instance, he was responsible for discovering various trigonometrical functions which are useful for us in the modern era too.

Apart from his discoveries in the field of mathematics, Aryabhatta contributed immensely towards astronomy. He proposed the heliocentric theory which states the planets revolve around the Sun. with the help of this theory, he calculated the speed of the different planets with respect to the Sun.

Furthermore, he also calculated the sidereal rotation which is the rotation of the earth in reference to the stars. Moreover, he founded the sidereal year to be 365 days, 6 hours, 12 minutes and 30 seconds which varies with only 3 minutes and 20 seconds over the modern-day value.

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Contributions of Aryabhatta

Most noteworthy is that Aryabhatta correctly founded that the earth rotates on its axis. Furthermore, he also proposed the geocentric model of the solar system which described the earth to be the center of the universe. And the sun, the moon, and the planets revolve around it.

Aryabhata also explained the solar and lunar eclipses in his book. Consequently, he also proposed that the moon due to the reflection of the sunlight. He explained in his book that the lunar eclipse and the solar eclipse takes by the shadow-casting of the earth and the moon.

In conclusion Aryabhatta approximations in the field of astronomy were quite accurate. It provided the core to the computational paradigm which provides a base to the modern theories.

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