Foundations of Chemistry

II should noi be overlooked that platinum has played a crucial role in ihe development of many branches of science even though the amounts of metal involved may have been small. Reliable Pt crucibles were vital in classical analysis on which the foundations of chemistry were laid. It was also widely used in the development of the electric telegraph, incandescent lamps, and thermionic valves. 

This paper deals with some questions in the foundations of chemistry. The atomic orbital (or electronic configuration) model is examined, with regards to both its origins and current usage. I explore the question of whether the commonly-used electronic configuration of atoms have any basis in quantum mechanics as is often claimed particularly in chemical education. 

Eric Scerri studied chemistry at the Universities of London, Cambridge and Southampton, and obtained a Ph.D. in the history and philosophy of science from King s College, London on the question of "The Reduction of Chemistry to Quantum Mechanics," He has been a research felloiu in the history and philosophy of science at the London School of Economics and at the California Institute of Technology. He is currently an assistant professor of chemistry at Bradley University, where he also teaches histoiy and philosophy of chemistry, which are also his main research interests. He is editor of the new journal Foundations of Chemistry. Address Department of Chemistry, Bradley University, Peoria, IL 61625. Internet scerri bradley.edu. 

Ovstrovsky, V.N., How and What Physics Contributes to Understanding the Periodic Law, Foundations of Chemistry, 2001 3 145-182,... 

Eric R. Scerri is a lecturer in chemistry and the history and philosophy of science at University of California, Los Angeles. He is the founder and edi-tor-in-chief of the journal Foundations of Chemistry and the author o/The Periodic Tabic Its Story and Its Significance (Oxford University Press, 2007). He received his Ph.D. in the his ton/ and philosophy of science from King s College London. Address Department of Chemistry Biochemistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1569. Internet scerri chem.ucla.edu... 

Taber, K. S. (2003a). The atom in the chemistry curriculum fundamental concepL teaching model or epistemological obstacle Foundations of Chemistry, 5( 1), 43-84. 

Kauffman, George. Review of From alchemy to atomic bombs history of chemistry, metallurgy, and civilization, by Fathi Habashi. In Foundations of Chemistry 7, no. 2 (Jan 2005) 183-186.. ... 

McEvoy, J.G. In search of the chemical revolution interpretative strategies in the history of chemistry. Foundations of Chemistry 2 (2000) 47-73. 

Edwards, Jacob Bibliography of Secondary Sources on the Periodic System of the Chemical Elements. Foundation of Chemistry 3, 183-196 (2001)... 

Quoted from R. Kronig and W. F. Weisskopf, eds., W. Pauli Collected Scientific Papers (New York John Wiley, 1964), II 1085, in Peter Joseph Hall, "The Pauli Exclusion Principle and the Foundations of Chemistry," Synthese 69 (1986) 267272, on 270. 

Foundations of Chemistry, 9th Edition, by Morris Hein and Susan Arena, is a textbook designed for students with little or no background in chemistry. One of the most successful books of its kind. Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, 85.00. 

Hanson, D. M. Foundations of Chemistry Pacific Crest Lisle, IL, 2006. 

Remember that these models are not to be interpreted as actual representations of the atoms physical structure. Rather, they serve as tools to help us understand and predict how atoms behave in various circumstances. These models, therefore, are the foundation of chemistry and the key to a richer understanding of the atomic and molecular environment that surrounds us. 

Furthermore, the supervisor and his two students appeared to share similar views on the relations of the new quantum mechanics to chemistry. At the end of 1929 Fowler, who was one of the editors for Cambridge University Press, asked London whether he would be interested to write a book on the foundations of chemistry in quantum mechanics . [18] Dirac during the same year had, as we saw, expressed his view about chemistry, which would permanently mark the physicists culture. By 1931, Fowler was already expressing a subtler view of the whole problem. In a report... 

The foundations of chemistry were now more or less completed. Phlogiston had been slain, and Lavoisier s theory of burning was safely established. De Morveau s new chemical nomenclature had been accepted, and Dalton had promulgated his atomic theory, which clearly explained two cornerstones of the structure of chemistry—the Laws of Constant Composition and Multiple Proportions. 

Soddy came out firmly for his belief in the existence of the same elements having different atomic weights. He had the boldness to give a name to such elements. Isotopes—elements in equal places—was the word he coined. What an upheaval this created. What was left of chemistry and all its pretty theories—was it all a house of sand In 1897, on the discovery of radium, Professor Runge of Gottingen had cried out, Nature is getting more and more disorderly every day. What would he have said now Every time a scientist dug into the foundations of chemistry another rotten, unsafe timber was discovered ... 

Chemistry is a universal science it was founded by many whose memories are forgotten. The foundations of chemistry are laid deep in the experiences, the hopes, the visions of mankind. 

Kidwai, M. and Mohan, R. 2005. Green chemistry An innovative technology. Foundations of Chemistry, 7 269-87. 

The theory of chemical processes today is based on theoretical physics. In this sense, physics supplies the foundation of chemistry. But chemistry also has analysis. If you have a strange substance and you want to know what it is, you go through a long and complicated process of chemical analysis. You can analyze almost anything today, so I am a little late with my idea. But if the physicists wanted to, they could also dig under the chemists in the problem of chemical analysis. It would be very easy to make an analysis of any complicated chemical substance all one would have to do would be to look at it and see where the atoms are. The only trouble is that the electron microscope is one hundred times too poor. (Later, I would like to ask the question Can the physicists do something about the third problem of chemistry - namely, synthesis Is there a physical way to synthesize any chemical substance ... 

Blomstrand was the first of the two to set his ideas forth. In 1869 he published Die Chemie der Jetztzeit (4). In this book he hoped to explain chemistry from an "electrochemical standpoint. He proposed not only to present the then current ideas but to "join them with the past." There was no need for him to make a conscious effort to connect the established work with the "current" work. This "new" work was quite solidly based on past principles. He considered the ideas of Berzelius as the foundation of chemistry, and he was most apologetic about having to modify some of the existing Berzelian concepts. Blomstrand claimed that qualitative rather than quantitative explanations were needed to gain new insights. Perhaps he had a vision of the type of work that Werner was to develop for he decries theories that are built on "fantasy." (We shall see shortly exactly how this applied to Werner.) He clearly states that new work must be built on established principles, modified where needed, and justified with experiments. 

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