The basic building blocks of the world around us (including us).
This is my first article about something Chemistry related.
I’m assuming some people reading will know little or nothing about chemistry so be patient if you know all of this. I plan on building on it in subsequent posts.
The Atom.
The world around us is made up of atoms which can be found in various states and combinations.
An atom is the smallest piece that an element can come in.
Elements you might have heard of will include carbon, oxygen, lead, copper and many others which can all be found on the Periodic Table.
As stated, these elements can be found in a variety of combinations which give us everything from the air we breathe to the device you are reading this post on.
The result of these combinations of atoms are what we call molecules. The makeup of these combinations are denoted in a chemical formula which tells us the ratio (how many of each) of the atoms in the molecule but not necessarily how they are arranged (ie. what order they are in)
Take for example ethanol (this is the alcohol people drink when they have a beer/wine etc).
It is composed of 2 carbon atoms, 6 hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom arranged as shown below.
The chemical formula for ethanol is C2H6O
Water is one we all know. I’m sure most people will recognize the molecular formula for water, which is H2O.
This tells us that it is formed of 2 Hydrogen atoms and 1 oxygen atom.
Another simple example is the combination in which we find oxygen atoms in the air that we breathe. It is simply 2 oxygen atoms (O2) which are bound together as shown below.
(As a side note, did you know the air we breathe is only made up of around 21% oxygen (O2)? The most common gas in the air we breathe is actually Nitrogen (N2) at 78%. Other gasses like Argon and Carbon Dioxide (CO2) make up the rest However, the ratio is important, too much of either can cause problems and breathing pure Nitrogen would be fatal)
What seems like a small difference of adding one more oxygen changes the chemical significantly. When we add another oxygen to it we get Ozone (O3).
You may have heard of the Ozone Layer. This is a blanket of ozone that exists in the stratosphere that interacts with a specific type of light radiation from the sun called Ultraviolet light. This is important as it shields the organisms (living things) on the Earth’s surface from some of the damage associated with this type of radiation. However, in the troposphere (where we live) can cause problems to health of plants and animals.
As we can see, slight differences in the combinations of atoms can change the effects and properties of a chemical very easily!
The elements that are combined and arranged make up the matter (solid, liquid and gas) that we see (or don’t see), touch or smell.
Chemistry is the study of this matter and energy, the properties of the matter and how they interact with themselves and each other.
I will be posting more topics of this type so if you like or dislike it let me know. The intent is to keep them a bit less “Sciencey” and more relevant to the world around us so it won’t be too theory heavy.
If anyone has any questions about the topic feel free to ask!
Lead Image Credit: Photo by Rodolfo Clix from Pexels