Author: admin
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Defining Chemical Engineering
As with engineering, a clear and concise definition that captures the essence of chemical engineering is not readily available. The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the professional society of chemical engineers in the United States, defines chemical engineers as follows: Individuals who use science and mathematics, especially chemistry, biochemistry, applied mathematics, and engineering principles,…
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Engineering Disciplines
The evolution of engineering is essentially a history of civilization. As early humans transitioned from a nomadic existence into settlements, there arose a need for permanent structures and systems for handling water and wastewater demands. Civil engineering developed in response to these needs, and even today one can marvel at the systems developed by engineers…
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Engineering and Engineers
Engineering has been considered as the practical application of science for over two centuries. ABET, Inc., formerly the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (www.abet.org), the organization that evaluates and accredits college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology in the United States and many other countries, defines engineering as follows: Engineering…
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Journals
Some journals that deal with physical chemistry include Historical journals that covered both chemistry and physics include Annales de chimie et de physique (started in 1789, published under the name given here from 1815 to 1914).
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History
The term “physical chemistry” was coined by Mikhail Lomonosov in 1752, when he presented a lecture course entitled “A Course in True Physical Chemistry” (Russian: Курс истинной физической химии) before the students of Petersburg University.[9] In the preamble to these lectures he gives the definition: “Physical chemistry is the science that must explain under provisions of physical experiments the reason…
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Disciplines
Quantum chemistry, a subfield of physical chemistry especially concerned with the application of quantum mechanics to chemical problems, provides tools to determine how strong and what shape bonds are,[2] how nuclei move, and how light can be absorbed or emitted by a chemical compound.[3] Spectroscopy is the related sub-discipline of physical chemistry which is specifically concerned with the interaction of electromagnetic…
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Key concepts
The key concepts of physical chemistry are the ways in which pure physics is applied to chemical problems. One of the key concepts in classical chemistry is that all chemical compounds can be described as groups of atoms bonded together and chemical reactions can be described as the making and breaking of those bonds. Predicting the properties of chemical compounds from a description of…
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physical chemistry
Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mechanics, analytical dynamics and chemical equilibria. Physical chemistry, in contrast to chemical physics, is predominantly (but not always) a supra-molecular science, as the majority of the principles on which it was founded relate to the bulk rather than the molecular or atomic…
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Synthesis of organic compounds
Once the properties endowed upon a substance by specific structural units called functional groups are known, it becomes possible to design novel molecules that may exhibit desired properties. The preparation, under controlled laboratory conditions, of specific compounds is known as synthetic chemistry. Some products are easier to synthesize than to collect and purify from their natural sources. For…
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Organic compounds in nature
A major focus of organic chemistry is the isolation, purification, and structural study of naturally occurring substances, since many natural products are simple organic molecules. Simple carbon-containing compounds produced by photosynthesis—the process by which carbon dioxide and water are converted to oxygen and compounds known as carbohydrates—form the raw material for the myriad organic compounds found in the plant and animal kingdoms. Such compounds include formic acid (HCO2H) in ants, ethyl alcohol (C2H5OH) in…