Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
Contents
1 Chemistry: A Central Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
2 Language and Chemistry .................................................................... 74
3 Beautiful Molecules . . . ...................................................................... 75
4 Chemistry in the Words of Scientists and Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
5 Clever Molecules . . .......................................................................... 79
6 From Molecules to Molecular Devices and Machines ..................................... 82
7 Molecular Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
7.1 Molecular Plug/Socket System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
7.2 Electrical Extension Cable at the Molecular Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
7.3 Dendrimers: Appealing Structures and Useful Compounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
8 Molecular Machines ......................................................................... 91
8.1 Linear Movements in Rotaxanes . . . . ................................................. 92
8.2 Ring Movements in Catenanes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
9 Conclusions .................................................................................. 102
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
1 Chemistry: A Central Science
Chemistry is a central science. Its language, the language of molecules, permeates
several other fields of science. Today the most important part of biology is molecu-
lar biology, and in the near future the chemical concepts that underlie our mental
activity (learning, thought, memory, and even conscience) will be recognized.
Chemistry is the necessary link between physics and biology, and it is also the
basis of emerging fields like ecology and material science. Without chemistry there
would be no hope of finding solutions to the four most important problems of our
society: food, health, energy, and environment.
Everybody knows that chemistry is useful and important: it allows us to treat
diseases, to live a more pleasant life, to understand the laws of Nature, and to
change the world around us. Many people wrongly believe that chemistry is only
a dirty industrial activity. Only a few know that Chemistry is a beautiful science
strictly connected with arts [
1
].
2 Language and Chemistry
There is a close parallelism between language and chemistry. Atoms are the letters
of chemistry, and the periodic table is the chemistry alphabet. A combination of
letters according to the rules of language forms a word, a combination of atoms
according to Nature's laws forms a molecule. A combination of words forms
a sentence, a combination of molecules forms a supramolecular system. Going on
towards increasing complexity, language takes the forms of paragraphs, articles,
books, and libraries, while chemistry merges into biology and ends with its highest
expression: man. But chemistry is much more complex than language. The books of
