Chemistry, XYL-ØRS
How do you use raw plant materials to manufacture a best-selling perfume? How do you engineer household products that are compliant with environmentally-oriented guidelines? The answers to these questions require an understanding of the laws of chemistry, the science that deals with the properties, composition, and structure of elements and compounds, as well as the transformations that such substances undergo and the energy that is released or absorbed during those processes. Chemistry is also concerned with the utilization of natural substances and the creation of artificial ones. Over time, more than 8,000,000 different chemical substances, both natural and artificial, have been characterized and produced. Chemistry's vast scope comprises organic, inorganic, physical, analytical, and industrial chemistry, along with biochemistry, environmental chemistry, medicinal chemistry, and much more. Through the dedicated efforts of people such as Robert Boyle, Dmitri Mendeleev, John Dalton, Marie Curie, and Rosalind Franklin, the field of chemistry has led to exciting innovations as well as crucial advances in our understanding of how the world functions, starting with the miniscule and unassuming atom.
Chemistry Encyclopedia Articles By Title
xylene
xylene, any of three isomeric dimethylbenzenes [which have the same chemical formula, C6H4(CH3)2, but different......
Yaghi, Omar M.
Omar M. Yaghi is an American chemist known for his work in developing reticular chemistry, in which materials are......
Yonath, Ada
Ada Yonath was an Israeli protein crystallographer who was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, along with......
Yoshino Akira
Yoshino Akira is a Japanese chemist who won the 2019 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his work in developing lithium-ion......
ytterbium
ytterbium (Yb), chemical element, a rare-earth metal of the lanthanide series of the periodic table. Ytterbium......
yttrium
yttrium (Y), chemical element, a rare-earth metal of Group 3 of the periodic table. Yttrium is a silvery white,......
zeolite
zeolite, any member of a family of hydrated aluminosilicate minerals that contain alkali and alkaline-earth metals.......
Zewail, Ahmed H.
Ahmed H. Zewail was an Egyptian-born chemist who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1999 for developing a rapid......
Ziegler, Karl
Karl Ziegler was a German chemist who shared the 1963 Nobel Prize for Chemistry with the Italian chemist Giulio......
Ziegler-Natta catalyst
Ziegler-Natta catalyst, any of an important class of mixtures of chemical compounds remarkable for their ability......
zinc
zinc (Zn), chemical element, a low-melting metal of Group 12 (IIb, or zinc group) of the periodic table, that is......
zinc group element
zinc group element, any of the four chemical elements that constitute Group 12 (IIb) of the periodic table—namely,......
zirconia
zirconia, zirconium dioxide, an industrially important compound of zirconium and oxygen usually derived from the......
zirconium
zirconium (Zr), chemical element, metal of Group 4 (IVb) of the periodic table, used as a structural material for......
Zsigmondy, Richard
Richard Zsigmondy was an Austrian chemist who received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1925 for research on colloids,......
Zyklon-B
Zyklon-B, brand name for a hydrogen cyanide–based chemical compound initially created as a pesticide and rodenticide......
Zymogen
Zymogen, any of a group of proteins that display no catalytic activity but are transformed within an organism into......
Ørsted, Hans Christian
Hans Christian Ørsted was a Danish physicist and chemist who discovered that electric current in a wire can deflect......