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chemistry
Table of Contents
 Introduction & Top Questions

 The scope of chemistry
 The methodology of chemistry
 Chemistry and society
 The history of chemistry
Fast Facts
 chemistry summary
 Related Content
Media
 Videos
 Images
 Interactives
Read Next
 How Do You Balance a Chemical Equation?

 Why Is a Group of Molecules Called a Mole?
Quizzes
 Science Quiz
 Ins and Outs of Chemistry
 Faces of Science
 So Much Chemistry, So Little Time Quiz
 Types of Chemical Reactions
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 More Articles On This Topic

 Additional Reading
 Contributors
 Article History
HomeScienceChemistry
chemistry
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Written by
Alan J. Rocke,
Melvyn C. UsselmanSee All

Fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Jan 5, 2023 • Article History
molecular structure
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Key People:

George P. Smith John B. Goodenough Gregory P. Winter Yoshino Akira Carolyn R. Bertozzi
Related Topics:

chemical bonding chemical element chemical compound biochemistry chemical reaction
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Top Questions
What is chemistry?
How are chemistry and biology related?
Summary
Read a brief summary of this topic
chemistry, the science that deals with the properties, composition, and structure of
substances (defined as elements and compounds), the transformations they undergo,
and the energy that is released or absorbed during these processes. Every substance,
whether naturally occurring or artificially produced, consists of one or more of the
hundred-odd species of atoms that have been identified as elements. Although these
atoms, in turn, are composed of more elementary particles, they are the basic building
blocks of chemical substances; there is no quantity of oxygen, mercury, or gold, for
example, smaller than an atom of that substance. Chemistry, therefore, is concerned not
with the subatomic domain but with the properties of atoms and the laws governing
their combinations and how the knowledge of these properties can be used to achieve
specific purposes.
The great challenge in chemistry is the development of a coherent explanation of the

complex behaviour of materials, why they appear as they do, what gives them their
enduring properties, and how interactions among different substances can bring about
the formation of new substances and the destruction of old ones. From the earliest
attempts to understand the material world in rational terms, chemists have struggled to
develop theories of matter that satisfactorily explain both permanence and change. The
ordered assembly of indestructible atoms into small and large molecules, or extended
networks of intermingled atoms, is generally accepted as the basis of permanence, while
the reorganization of atoms or molecules into different arrangements lies behind
theories of change. Thus chemistry involves the study of the atomic composition and
structural architecture of substances, as well as the varied interactions among
substances that can lead to sudden, often violent reactions.
Chemistry also is concerned with the utilization of natural substances and the creation
of artificial ones. Cooking, fermentation, glass making, and metallurgy are all chemical
processes that date from the beginnings of civilization. Today, vinyl,
Teflon, liquid crystals, semiconductors, and superconductors represent the fruits of
chemical technology. The 20th century saw dramatic advances in the comprehension of
the marvelous and complex chemistry of living organisms, and a molecular
interpretation of health and disease holds great promise. Modern chemistry, aided by
increasingly sophisticated instruments, studies materials as small as single atoms and as
large and complex as DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), which contains millions of atoms.
New substances can even be designed to bear desired characteristics and then
synthesized. The rate at which chemical knowledge continues to accumulate is
remarkable. Over time more than 8,000,000 different chemical substances, both
natural and artificial, have been characterized and produced. The number was less than
500,000 as recently as 1965.
Intimately interconnected with the intellectual challenges of chemistry are those
associated with industry. In the mid-19th century the German chemist Justus von
Liebig commented that the wealth of a nation could be gauged by the amount of sulfuric
acid it produced. This acid, essential to many manufacturing processes, remains today
the leading chemical product of industrialized countries. As Liebig recognized, a country
that produces large amounts of sulfuric acid is one with a strong chemical industry and a
strong economy as a whole. The production, distribution, and utilization of a wide range
of chemical products is common to all highly developed nations. In fact, one can say that
the “iron age” of civilization is being replaced by a “polymer age,” for in some countries
the total volume of polymers now produced exceeds that of iron.
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The scope of chemistry

The days are long past when one person could hope to have a detailed knowledge of all
areas of chemistry. Those pursuing their interests into specific areas of chemistry
communicate with others who share the same interests. Over time a group of chemists
with specialized research interests become the founding members of an area of
specialization. The areas of specialization that emerged early in the history of chemistry,
such as organic, inorganic, physical, analytical, and industrial chemistry, along
with biochemistry, remain of greatest general interest. There has been, however, much
growth in the areas of polymer, environmental, and medicinal chemistry during the
20th century. Moreover, new specialities continue to appear, as, for example,
pesticide, forensic, and computer chemistry.

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 Introduction & Top Questions

 How Do You Balance a Chemical Equation?

 More Articles On This Topic

Melvyn C. UsselmanSee All

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The great challenge in chemistry is the development of a coherent explanation of the

So Much Chemistry, So Little Time Quiz

The scope of chemistry

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