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The Chemistry Portal

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Colourful solutions in test-tubes.
Welcome to the chemistry portal. Chemistry, from Greek language χυμεία meaning "study of liquids", is a branch of science. Modern chemistry focuses on the study of elements of the world and the bonds between elements. Chemistry also deals with composition, structure, and properties of substances and the transformations that they undergo. In the study of matter, chemistry also investigates its interactions with energy and itself. Because of the diversity of matter, which is mostly in the form of compounds, chemists often study how atoms of different chemical elements interact to form molecules, and how molecules interact with each other.


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Featured article - Selected picture - News - Selected biography - History and Philosophy - Techniques - Equipment - Chemistry in society - Chemistry in industry - Periodic Table - Resources - WikiProjects - Things you can do - Collaboration of the month - Related portals - Associated Wikimedia


  

Featured article

The first "technetium cow" (a device for separating 99mTc from its parent isotope, 99Mo) at Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Technetium is a chemical element that has the symbol Tc and the atomic number 43. Pronounced tek-nee-s(h)ee-um, the chemical properties of this silvery grey, radioactive, crystalline transition metal are intermediate between rhenium and manganese. Its short-lived isotope Tc-99m is used in nuclear medicine for a wide variety of diagnostic tests. Tc-99 is used as a gamma ray-free source of beta particles, and its pertechnetate ion (TcO4-) could find use as an anodic corrosion preventer for steel (this possible use is hindered by technetium's radioactivity). The pertechnetate forms a technetium dioxide layer on the steel surface, this TcO2 formation explains how iron powder can be used to remove technetium from water. It is also possible to absorb technetium on activated carbon.

Dmitri Mendeleev predicted many of the properties of element 43, which he called ekamanganese, well before its actual discovery (see Mendeleev's predicted elements). In 1937 its isotope Tc-97 became the first element to be artificially produced, hence its name (from the Greek τεχνητος, meaning "artificial"). Most technetium produced on Earth is a by-product of fission of uranium-235 in nuclear reactors and is extracted from nuclear fuel rods. No isotope of technetium has a half-life longer than 4.2 million years (Tc-98), so its detection in red giants in 1952 helped bolster the theory that stars can produce heavier elements. On earth, technetium occurs naturally only in uranium ores as a product of spontaneous fission; the quantities are minute but have been measured.

  

Selected picture

Manganese(II) chloride
Credit: Martin Walker

Manganese(II) chloride is an ionic salt that is the only stable chloride of manganese. It occurs naturally as the mineral scacchite, and it is a weak Lewis acid.

  

Categories

  

History and Philosophy of Chemistry

Antoine Lavoisier

Many chemists have an interest in the history of chemistry. Those with philosophical interests will be interested that the philosophy of chemistry has quite recently developed along a path somewhat different from the general philosophy of science.

Other articles that might interest you are:

There is a Wikipedia Project on the History of Science and portals for the scientific method and philosophy of science.

  

Chemistry Resources

Wikipedia:WikiProject Chemicals/Data is a collection of links and references that are useful for chemistry-related works. This includes free online chemical databases, publications, patents, computer programs, and various tools.

Science is Fun University of Wisconsin-Madison Chemistry Professor Bassam Z. Shakhashiri, shares the fun of science.

megaConverter The Web's best place to figure out what equals what.

General Chemistry Online Clear text and comprehensive coverage of general chemistry topics by Fred Senese, Dept. of Chemistry Frostburg State University

General Chemistry Demonstration at Purdue Video clips (and descriptions) of lecture demonstrations.

Intota Chemistry Experts A large online listing of real-world chemistry expert biographies provides examples of the many areas of expertise and careers in chemistry.

Chemistry Webercises Directory A large listing of chemistry resources maintained by Steven Murov, Emeritus Chemistry Professor Modesto Junior College.

MathMol MathMol (Mathematics and Molecules) is a good starting point for those interested in the field of molecular modeling.

Chemistry Educational Resources and Essential References from Wiley, the world's largest chemistry publisher

ABC Chemistry A directory of free full-text journals in chemistry, biochemistry and related subjects.

  

In the news

Rohm and Haas Headquarters in 2007.
Rohm and Haas Headquarters in 2007.
  • 7-10 US chemical giant Dow Chemical has announced that it is to buy Philadelphia-based rival Rohm and Haas. Dow is paying $78 per share, a 74 percent premium, which makes the agreement worth around $15.3 billion. The change will expand Dow's presence in the specialty chemical market. Dow plans to set up an advanced materials business unit at the Rohm and Haas headquarters in Philadelphia, and this unit will retain the Rohm and Haas name. Read more...
  • 2-15 Chemists modeling the structure of strongly acidic solutions have found that hydronium ions can associate into unusual ion pairs. Gregory A. Voth and Sergei Izvekov of the University of Utah, in collaboration with Feng Wang of Boston University, were examining the structure of aqueous hydrochloric acid at concentrations of 0.43-0.85 M, and they found that the ions unexpectedly associate into pairs. See doi:10.1021/ja078106i Read more...
  

Selected biography

Justus von Liebig
Freiherr Justus von Liebig (1803-1873) was a German chemist who made major contributions to agricultural and biological chemistry, and worked on the organization of organic chemistry. As a professor, he devised the modern laboratory-oriented teaching method, and for such innovations, he is regarded as one of the greatest chemistry teachers of all time. The vapor condensation device he popularized for his research is still known as a Liebig condenser, although it was in common use long before Liebig's research began. He is known as the "father of the fertilizer industry" for his discovery of nitrogen as an essential plant nutrient, and his formulation of the Law of the Minimum which described the effect of individual nutrients on crops. He also invented a process for silvering that greatly improved the utility of mirrors.
  

Techniques used by chemists

  

Equipment used by chemists

  

Chemistry in society

  

Chemistry in industry

  

WikiProjects

  

Periodic Table

  

Things you can do

Here are some things you can do:

  

Collaboration of the Month

The current Chemistry Collaboration of the Month is Catalysis.
Every month a different chemistry-related topic, stub or non-existent article is picked. Please improve the article any way you can.
  

Related portals

  

Associated Wikimedia
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