Chemistry, SCI-SWA
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
Scientific Revolution, drastic change in scientific thought that took place during the 16th and 17th centuries.......
scleroprotein, any of several fibrous proteins of cells and tissues once thought to be insoluble but now known......
Scottish Enlightenment, the conjunction of minds, ideas, and publications in Scotland during the whole of the second......
Glenn T. Seaborg was an American nuclear chemist best known for his work on isolating and identifying transuranium......
seaborgium (Sg), an artificially produced radioactive element in Group VIb of the periodic table, atomic number......
secretin, digestive hormone secreted by the wall of the upper part of the small intestine (the duodenum) that regulates......
Florence Seibert was an American scientist, best known for her contributions to the tuberculin test and to safety......
selenium (Se), a chemical element in the oxygen group (Group 16 [VIa] of the periodic table), closely allied in......
Francesco Selmi was an Italian chemist and toxicologist who is considered one of the founders of colloid chemistry.......
Waldo Semon was an American chemist known principally for his discovery of plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC).......
Nikolay Nikolayevich Semyonov was a Soviet physical chemist who shared the 1956 Nobel Prize for Chemistry with......
serine, an amino acid obtainable by hydrolysis of most common proteins, sometimes constituting 5 to 10 percent......
serotonin, biological molecule that acts as a potent vasoconstrictor and neurotransmitter. Serotonin is derived......
serum albumin, protein found in blood plasma that helps maintain the osmotic pressure between the blood vessels......
sex hormone, a chemical substance produced by a sex gland or other organ that has an effect on the sexual features......
K. Barry Sharpless is an American scientist who was a co-winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2001 and 2022.......
Cheryl L. Shavers is an American chemist and engineer who sought to bring her knowledge of science and technology......
Daniel Shechtman is an Israeli chemist who was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his discovery of......
Osamu Shimomura was a Japanese-born chemist who was a corecipient, with Martin Chalfie and Roger Y. Tsien, of the......
Shirakawa Hideki is a Japanese chemist who, with Alan G. MacDiarmid and Alan J. Heeger, won the Nobel Prize for......
Nevil Vincent Sidgwick was an English chemist who contributed to the understanding of chemical bonding, especially......
silane, any of a series of covalently bonded compounds containing only the elements silicon and hydrogen, having......
silica, compound of the two most abundant elements in Earth’s crust, silicon and oxygen, SiO2. The mass of Earth’s......
silica gel, a highly porous, noncrystalline form of silica used to remove moisture from gases and liquids, to thicken......
silica mineral, any of the forms of silicon dioxide (SiO2), including quartz, tridymite, cristobalite, coesite,......
silicic acid, a compound of silicon, oxygen, and hydrogen, regarded as the parent substance from which is derived......
silicon (Si), a nonmetallic chemical element in the carbon family (Group 14 [IVa] of the periodic table). Silicon......
silicon carbide, exceedingly hard, synthetically produced crystalline compound of silicon and carbon. Its chemical......
silicone, any of a diverse class of fluids, resins, or elastomers based on polymerized siloxanes, substances whose......
Benjamin Silliman was an American chemist whose report on the potential uses of crude-oil products gave impetus......
Benjamin Silliman was a geologist and chemist who founded the American Journal of Science and wielded a powerful......
silver (Ag), chemical element, a white lustrous metal valued for its decorative beauty and electrical conductivity.......
silver nitrate, caustic chemical compound, important as an antiseptic, in the industrial preparation of other silver......
Jens C. Skou was a Danish biophysicist who (with Paul D. Boyer and John E. Walker) was awarded the Nobel Prize......
Richard E. Smalley was an American chemist and physicist, who shared the 1996 Nobel Prize for Chemistry with Robert......
George P. Smith is an American biochemist known for his development of phage display, a laboratory technique employing......
Michael Smith was a British-born Canadian biochemist who in the 1970s conceived and developed a method by which......
Oliver Smithies was a British-born American scientist who, with Mario R. Capecchi and Sir Martin J. Evans, won......
soda lime, white or grayish white granular mixture of calcium hydroxide with sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide.......
Frederick Soddy was an English chemist and recipient of the 1921 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for investigating radioactive......
sodium (Na), chemical element of the alkali metal group (Group 1 [Ia]) of the periodic table. Sodium is a very......
sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), white crystalline or powdery solid that is a source of carbon dioxide and so is used......
sodium hydroxide (NaOH), a corrosive white crystalline solid that contains the Na+ (sodium) cation and the OH−......
soft water, water that is free from dissolved salts of such metals as calcium, iron, or magnesium, which form insoluble......
soil chemistry, discipline embracing all chemical and mineralogical compounds and reactions occurring in soils......
Ernest Solvay was a Belgian industrial chemist, best known for his development of a commercially viable ammonia-soda......
solvolysis, a chemical reaction in which the solvent, such as water or alcohol, is one of the reagents and is present......
somatostatin, polypeptide that inhibits the activity of certain pancreatic and gastrointestinal hormones. Somatostatin......
Frank Harold Spedding was an American chemist who, during the 1940s and ’50s, developed processes for reducing......
sphingolipid, any member of a class of lipids (fat-soluble constituents of living cells) containing the organic......
spironolactone, diuretic drug that is used primarily to treat conditions related to edema (fluid retention), hypertension......
spontaneous combustion, the outbreak of fire without application of heat from an external source. Spontaneous combustion......
Georg Ernst Stahl was a German educator, chemist, and esteemed medical theorist and practitioner. His chemical......
Wendell Meredith Stanley was an American biochemist who received (with John Northrop and James Sumner) the Nobel......
starch, a white, granular, organic chemical that is produced by all green plants. Starch is a soft, white, tasteless......
Hermann Staudinger was a German chemist who won the 1953 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for demonstrating that polymers......
steam, odourless, invisible gas consisting of vaporized water. It is usually interspersed with minute droplets......
stearic acid, one of the most common long-chain fatty acids, found in combined form in natural animal and vegetable......
stearyl alcohol, waxy solid alcohol formerly obtained from whale or dolphin oil and used as a lubricant and antifoam......
William H. Stein was an American biochemist who, along with Stanford Moore and Christian B. Anfinsen, was a co-winner......
Thomas Steitz was an American biophysicist and biochemist who was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, along......
stereochemistry, Term originated c. 1878 by Viktor Meyer (1848–97) for the study of stereoisomers (see isomer).......
steroid, any of a class of natural or synthetic organic compounds characterized by a molecular structure of 17......
steroid hormone, any of a group of hormones that belong to the class of chemical compounds known as steroids; they......
Julius Stieglitz was a U.S. chemist who interpreted the behaviour and structure of organic compounds in the light......
Fraser Stoddart was a Scottish-American chemist who was the first to successfully synthesize a mechanically interlocked......
stoichiometry, in chemistry, the determination of the proportions in which elements or compounds react with one......
strain theory, in chemistry, a proposal made in 1885 by the German chemist Adolf von Baeyer that the stability......
Fritz Strassmann was a German physical chemist who, with Otto Hahn, discovered neutron-induced nuclear fission......
strontium (Sr), chemical element, one of the alkaline-earth metals of Group 2 (IIa) of the periodic table. It is......
strychnine, a poisonous alkaloid that is obtained from seeds of the nux vomica tree (S. nux-vomica) and related......
styrene, liquid hydrocarbon that is important chiefly for its marked tendency to undergo polymerization (a process......
styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer (SAN), a rigid, transparent plastic produced by the copolymerization of styrene......
styrene-butadiene and styrene-isoprene block copolymers (SBR), two related triblock copolymers that consist of......
styrene-maleic anhydride copolymer, a thermoplastic resin produced by the copolymerization of styrene and maleic......
substitution reaction, any of a class of chemical reactions in which an atom, ion, or group of atoms or ions in......
succinic acid, a dicarboxylic acid of molecular formula C4H6O4 that is widely distributed in almost all plant and......
sucrase, any member of a group of enzymes present in yeast and in the intestinal mucosa of animals that catalyze......
sucrose, organic compound, colourless sweet-tasting crystals that dissolve in water. Sucrose (C12H22O11) is a disaccharide;......
sugar, any of numerous sweet, colourless, water-soluble compounds present in the sap of seed plants and the milk......
sulfate, any of numerous chemical compounds related to sulfuric acid, H2SO4. One group of these derivatives is......
sulfate mineral, any naturally occurring salt of sulfuric acid. About 200 distinct kinds of sulfates are recorded......
sulfation, in chemistry, any of several methods by which esters or salts of sulfuric acid (sulfates) are formed.......
sulfide, any of three classes of chemical compounds containing the element sulfur. The three classes of sulfides......
sulfide mineral, any member of a group of compounds of sulfur with one or more metals. Most of the sulfides are......
sulfonamide, any member of a class of chemical compounds, the amides of sulfonic acids. The class includes several......
sulfonation, in chemistry, any of several methods by which sulfonic acids are prepared. Important sulfonation procedures......
sulfone, any of a family of organic sulfur compounds in which two carbon-containing combining groups are linked......
sulfonic acid, any of a class of organic acids containing sulfur and having the general formula RSO3H, in which......
sulfoxide, any of a class of organic compounds containing sulfur and oxygen and having the general formula (RR′)......
sulfur (S), nonmetallic chemical element belonging to the oxygen group (Group 16 [VIa] of the periodic table),......
sulfur dioxide, (SO2), inorganic compound, a heavy, colorless, poisonous gas. It is produced in huge quantities......
sulfur oxide, any of several compounds of sulfur and oxygen, the most important of which are sulfur dioxide (SO2)......
sulfuric acid (H2SO4), colorless, odorless, oily, and corrosive liquid that is a widely manufactured industrial......
James Batcheller Sumner was an American biochemist and corecipient, with John Howard Northrop and Wendell Meredith......
superheated steam, water vapour at a temperature higher than the boiling point of water at a particular pressure.......
surface analysis, in analytical chemistry, the study of that part of a solid that is in contact with a gas or a......
Suzuki Akira is a Japanese chemist who was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his work in using palladium......
Theodor H.E. Svedberg was a Swedish chemist who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1926 for his studies in the......
Joseph Swan was an English physicist and chemist who produced an early electric lightbulb and invented the dry......