107 Stories About Chemistry
|
The evolution of the globe and of life on it is due largely to chemistry. For the great diversity of chemical compounds owes its existence to processes called chemical reactions. They are the true spirit of chemical science, and its principal subject matter. It is impossible to estimate even approximately the number of chemical reactions that occur in the world, say, in the course of only one second. For instance, for a person to pronounce the word "second" many chemical processes must occur in his brain. We speak, think, enjoy ourselves, or worry, and all these actions are backed by millions of chemical reactions. We never see these reactions, but there is also an immense number of chemical reactions that we do observe daily, just offhand, without stopping to think of them. We put a slice of lemon into a cup of strong tea and the tea becomes pale. We strike a match and a stick of wood bursts into flame and turns into charcoal. These are all chemical reactions. The primeval man who learned to light a fire was the first chemist. He accomplished at will the first chemical reaction, that of combustion. And this reaction is the most necessary, the most important in all the history of mankind. It gave our distant ancestors the heat to warm their dwellings on cold days. In our time it has opened the way to outer space by propelling rockets weighing many tons into the sky. The legend of Prometheus who gave people fire is at the same time the legend of the first chemical reaction.
|
