HISTORY OF CHEMISTRY BY SARA C. MIGUEL M. JESSICA S.
A Little Info! Chemistry is a branch of science Dates back to prehistoric times ( looong time ago ) Is separated into four different time periods Prehistoric Times - Beginning of the Christian Era (Black Magic) Beginning of the Christian Era - End of 17th Century (Alchemy) End of 17th Century - Mid 19th Century(Traditional Chemistry) Mid 19th Century Present (Modern Chemistry or 20th Century Chemistry)
Prehistoric Times - Beginning of the Christian Era (Black Magic) Mysticism and superstition prevailed over scientific thought Many people believed that natural processes were controlled by spirits and relied upon magic to persuade the spirits to help in their favor Some elements were recognized at this time were: Iron Gold Copper
Prehistoric Times - Beginning of the Christian Era {Continued} Democritus proclaims the atom to be the simplest unit of matter. All matter was composed of atoms Aristotle declares there are four elements & their properties: Fire, air, water and earth Hot, cold, dry and wet People learned that iron could be made from dirty brown earthen rock and bronze could be made by combining copper and tin The belief that gold could be made out of other substances led into the new age of alchemy
Beginning of the Christian Era - End of 17th Century (Alchemy) Many alchemists believed that metals could be converted to gold with the aid of a mystical "thing" called a philosophers stone (which was never found) Many discoveries of new elements and compounds were made Many tried to make gold out of cheaper metals A Swiss by the name of Theophrastus Bombastus felt that the object of alchemy should be the cure of the sick
Beginning of the Christian Era - End of 17th Century (Alchemy) {Continued} Bombastus believed that salt, sulfur and mercury would give health if they were present in the body in proper proportions The last influential chemist in this era was Robert Boyle Rejected the leading scientific theories of his day Started the list of elements which are still recognized today Boyle's Law- a law relating to the volume and pressure of gasses Founded a scientific society in 1661 which eventually became the Royal Society of England
End of 17th Century - Mid 19th Century (Traditional Chemistry) Scientists were using the "modern method" of discovery by testing theories with experiments Biggest mystery of the time was combustion Joseph Priestly was the first chemist to prove that oxygen was essential in combustion Oxygen and Hydrogen were both discovered during this period French chemist Antoine Laurent Lavoisier formulated the present accepted theory of combustion
Mid 19th Century Present (Modern Chemistry or 20th Century The era chemistry flourished Chemistry) Lavoisier's thesis gave chemists the first sound understanding of the nature of chemical reactions Which also led John Dalton to formulate his atomic theory An Italian chemist named Amedeo Avogadro formulated his own theory (Avogadro's Law) concerning molecules and their relation to temperature and pressure There were around 60 known elements by this time
Mid 19th Century Present (Modern Chemistry or 20th Century Chemistry) {Continued} John A.R. Newlands, Stanislao Cannizzaro and A.E.B. de Chancourtois first noticed that all of these element were very much alike in structure This work led to Dmitri Mendeleev publishing the first periodic table and set the foundation for theoretical chemistry http://youtu.be/nsbxp64yprq 1896-Henri Becquerel and the Curies discovered the phenomenon known as radioactivity Which became the foundation of nuclear chemistry 1919-Ernest Rutherford discovered that elements could be transmutated which laid the basis for interpreting the structure of the atom
Mid 19th Century Present (Modern Chemistry or 20th Century Chemistry) {Continued} Niels Bohr finalized the atomic theory Other major advances were made at this time that eventually led to the following branches of chemistry: Biochemistry Nuclear chemistry Chemical engineering Organic chemistry
VIDEO TIME!!!!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= QiiyvzZBKT8
Reference Page http://www.columbia.edu/itc/chemistry/chemc2507/navbar/chemhist.html http://www.angelfire.com/geek/kneekey/theearlyhistoryofchemistr y.html