Atomic physics

Atomic physics (or atom physics) is the field of physics that studies atoms as an isolated system of electrons and an atomic nucleus. It is primarily concerned with the arrangement of electrons around the nucleus and the processes by which these arrangements change. This includes ions as well as neutral atoms and, unless otherwise stated, for the purposes of this discussion it should be assumed that the term atom includes ions.
The term atomic physics is often associated with nuclear power and nuclear bombs, due to the synonymous use of atomic and nuclear in standard English. However, physicists distinguish between atomic physics—which deals with the atom as a system consisting of a nucleus and electrons, and nuclear physics—which considers atomic nuclei alone.
As with many scientific fields, strict delineation can be highly contrived and atomic physics is often considered in the wider context of atomic, molecular, and optical physics. Physics research groups are usually so classified.

Isolated atoms

Atomic physics always considers atoms in isolation. Atomic models will consist of a single nucleus which may be surrounded by one or more bound electrons. It is not concerned with the formation of molecules (although much of the physics is identical) nor does it examine atoms in a solid state as condensed matter. It is concerned with processes such as ionization and excitation by photons or collisions with atomic particles.
While modelling atoms in isolation may not seem realistic, if one considers atoms in a gas or plasma then the time-scales for atom-atom interactions are huge in comparison to the atomic processes that we are concerned with. This means that the individual atoms can be treated as if each were in isolation because for the vast majority of the time they are. By this consideration atomic physics provides the underlying theory in plasma physics and atmospheric physics even though both deal with huge numbers of atoms.

Electronic configuration

Electrons form notional shells around the nucleus. These are naturally in a ground state but can be excited by the absorption of energy from light (photons), magnetic fields, or interaction with a colliding particle (typically other electrons).
Electrons that populate a shell are said to be in a bound state. The energy necessary to remove an electron from its shell (taking it to infinity) is called the binding energy. Any quantity of energy absorbed by the electron in excess of this amount is converted to kinetic energy according to the conservation of energy. The atom is said to have undergone the process of ionization.
In the event the electron absorbs a quantity of energy less than the binding energy, it will transition to an excited state. After a statistically sufficient quantity of time, an electron in an excited state will undergo a transition to a lower state. The change in energy between the two energy levels must be accounted for (conservation of energy). In a neutral atom, the system will emit a photon of the difference in energy. However, if the excited atom has been previously ionized, particularly if one of its inner shell electrons has been removed, a phenomenon known as the Auger effect may take place where the quantity of energy is transferred to one of the bound electrons causing it to go into the continuum. This allows one to multiply ionize an atom with a single photon.
There are rather strict selection rules as to the electronic configurations that can be reached by excitation by light—however there are no such rules for excitation by collision processes.

History and developments

The majority of fields in physics can be divided between theoretical work and experimental work, and atomic physics is no exception. It is usually the case, but not always, that progress goes in alternate cycles from an experimental observation, through to a theoretical explanation followed by some predictions which may or may not be confirmed by experiment, and so on. Of course, the current state of technology at any given time can put limitations on what can be achieved experimentally and theoretically so it may take considerable time for theory to be refined.

Main article: Atomic theory

One of the earliest steps towards atomic physics was the recognition that matter was composed of atoms, in the modern sense of the basic unit of a chemical element. This theory was developed by the British chemist and physicist John Dalton in the 18th century. At this stage, it wasn't clear what atoms were although they could be described and classified by their properties (in bulk) in a periodic table.

Main article: Basics of quantum mechanics

The true beginning of atomic physics is marked by the discovery of spectral lines and attempts to describe the phenomenon, most notably by Joseph von Fraunhofer. The study of these lines led to the Bohr atom model and to the birth of quantum mechanics. In seeking to explain atomic spectra an entirely new mathematical model of matter was revealed. As far as atoms and their electron shells were concerned, not only did this yield a better overall description, i.e. the atomic orbital model, but it also provided a new theoretical basis for chemistry (quantum chemistry) and spectroscopy.
Since the Second World War, both theoretical and experimental fields have advanced at a rapid pace. This can be attributed to progress in computing technology which has allowed larger and more sophisticated models of atomic structure and associated collision processes. Similar technological advances in accelerators, detectors, magnetic field generation and lasers have greatly assisted experimental work.

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its properties, structure, composition, behavior, reactions, interactions and the changes it undergoes.^[1][2]
Chemistry is sometimes called "the central science" because it connects physics with other natural sciences such as astronomy, geology and biology.^[3][4]
Physics also studies matter, but physics is the science of quantities of space and matter, and laws governing them. Chemistry is a branch of physical science but not a branch of physics.^[5] However, chemistry utilizes physics. For example, chemistry uses quantities like energy and entropy in relation to the spontaneity of chemical processes. It also explains the structure and properties of matter as a consequence of the physical properties of chemical substances and their interactions. For example, steel is harder than iron because its atoms are bound together in a more rigid crystalline lattice; wood burns or undergoes rapid oxidation because it can react spontaneously with oxygen in a chemical reaction above a certain temperature; sugar and salt dissolve in water because their molecular/ionic properties are such that dissolution is preferred under the ambient conditions. Synthesis is the major aspect that separates chemistry from physics and biology as sciences. Chemistry includes the knowledge (science) to design and make more complex substances from simpler ones. These new substances might then be analyzed for their physical or biological properties.
The etymology of the word chemistry has been much disputed.^[6] The genesis of chemistry can be traced to certain practices, known as alchemy, which had been practiced for several millennia in various parts of the world, particularly the Middle East^.

Theory

Traditional chemistry starts with the study of elementary particles, atoms, molecules,^[8] substances, metals, crystals, .. and other aggregates of matter. in solid, liquid, and gas states, whether in isolation or combination. The interactions, reactions and transformations that are studied in chemistry are a result of interaction either between different chemical substances or between matter and energy. Such behaviors are studied in a chemistry laboratory using various forms of laboratory glassware.

Laboratory, Institute of Biochemistry, University of Cologne

A chemical reaction is a transformation of some substances into one or more other substances.^[9] It can be symbolically depicted through a chemical equation. The number of atoms on the left and the right in the equation for a chemical transformation is most often equal. The nature of chemical reactions a substance may undergo and the energy changes that may accompany it are constrained by certain basic rules, known as chemical laws.
Energy and entropy considerations are invariably important in almost all chemical studies. Chemical substances are classified in terms of their structure, phase as well as their chemical compositions. They can be analyzed using the tools of chemical analysis, e.g. spectroscopy and chromatography. Scientists engaged in chemical research are known as chemists.^[10] Most chemists specialize in one or more sub-disciplines.

History

Main article: History of chemistry

See also: Alchemy, Timeline of chemistry, and Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Ancient Egyptians pioneered the art of synthetic "wet" chemistry up to 4,000 years ago.^[11] By 1000 BC ancient civilizations were using technologies that formed the basis of the various branches of chemistry such as; extracting metal from their ores, making pottery and glazes, fermenting beer and wine, making pigments for cosmetics and painting, extracting chemicals from plants for medicine and perfume, making cheese, dying cloth, tanning leather, rendering fat into soap, making glass, and making alloys like bronze.

Democritus' atomist philosophy was later adopted by Epicurus (341–270 BCE).

The genesis of chemistry can be traced to the widely observed phenomenon of burning that led to metallurgy—the art and science of processing ores to get metals (e.g. metallurgy in ancient India). The greed for gold led to the discovery of the process for its purification, even though the underlying principles were not well understood—it was thought to be a transformation rather than purification. Many scholars in those days thought it reasonable to believe that there exist means for transforming cheaper (base) metals into gold. This gave way to alchemy and the search for the Philosopher's Stone which was believed to bring about such a transformation by mere touch.^[12]
Greek atomism dates back to 440 BC, as what might be indicated by the book De Rerum Natura (The Nature of Things)^[13] written by the Roman Lucretius in 50 BC.^[14] Much of the early development of purification methods is described by Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia.
A tentative outline is as follows:

1. Egyptian alchemy [3,000 BCE – 400 BCE], formulate early "element" theories such as the Ogdoad.
2. Greek alchemy [332 BCE – 642 CE], the Macedonian king Alexander the Great conquers Egypt and founds Alexandria, having the world's largest library, where scholars and wise men gather to study.
3. Islamic alchemy [642 CE – 1200], the Muslim conquest of Egypt; development of alchemy by Jābir ibn Hayyān, al-Razi and others; Jābir modifies Aristotle's theories; advances in processes and apparatus.^[15]
4. European alchemy [1300 – present], Pseudo-Geber builds on Arabic chemistry.^{[citation needed]} From the 12th century, major advances in the chemical arts shifted from Arab lands to western Europe.^[15]
5. Chemistry [1661], Boyle writes his classic chemistry text The Sceptical Chymist.
6. Chemistry [1787], Lavoisier writes his classic Elements of Chemistry.
7. Chemistry [1803], Dalton publishes his Atomic Theory.
8. Chemistry [1869], Dmitri Mendeleev presented his Periodic table being the framework of the modern chemistry

The earliest pioneers of Chemistry, and inventors of the modern scientific method,^[16] were medieval Arab and Persian scholars. They introduced precise observation and controlled experimentation into the field and discovered numerous Chemical substances.^{[17][verification needed]}

"Chemistry as a science was almost created by the Muslims; for in this field, where the Greeks (so far as we know) were confined to industrial experience and vague hypothesis, the Saracens introduced precise observation, controlled experiment, and careful records. They invented and named the alembic (al-anbiq), chemically analyzed innumerable substances, composed lapidaries, distinguished alkalis and acids, investigated their affinities, studied and manufactured hundreds of drugs. Alchemy, which the Muslims inherited from Egypt, contributed to chemistry by a thousand incidental discoveries, and by its method, which was the most scientific of all medieval operations."

^[17]
The most influential Muslim chemists were Jābir ibn Hayyān (Geber, d. 815), al-Kindi (d. 873), al-Razi (d. 925), al-Biruni (d. 1048) and Alhazen (d. 1039).^[18] The works of Jābir became more widely known in Europe through Latin translations by a pseudo-Geber in 14th century Spain, who also wrote some of his own books under the pen name "Geber". The contribution of Indian alchemists and metallurgists in the development of chemistry was also quite significant.^[19]
The emergence of chemistry in Europe was primarily due to the recurrent incidence of the plague and blights there during the so called Dark Ages.^{[citation needed]} This gave rise to a need for medicines. It was thought that there exists a universal medicine called the Elixir of Life that can cure all diseases^{[citation needed]}, but like the Philosopher's Stone, it was never found.

Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier is considered the "Father of Modern Chemistry".^[20]

For some practitioners, alchemy was an intellectual pursuit, over time, they got better at it. Paracelsus (1493–1541), for example, rejected the 4-elemental theory and with only a vague understanding of his chemicals and medicines, formed a hybrid of alchemy and science in what was to be called iatrochemistry. Similarly, the influences of philosophers such as Sir Francis Bacon (1561–1626) and René Descartes (1596–1650), who demanded more rigor in mathematics and in removing bias from scientific observations, led to a scientific revolution. In chemistry, this began with Robert Boyle (1627–1691), who came up with an equation known as Boyle's Law about the characteristics of gaseous state.^[21]
Chemistry indeed came of age when Antoine Lavoisier (1743–1794), developed the theory of Conservation of mass in 1783; and the development of the Atomic Theory by John Dalton around 1800. The Law of Conservation of Mass resulted in the reformulation of chemistry based on this law^{[citation needed]} and the oxygen theory of combustion, which was largely based on the work of Lavoisier. Lavoisier's fundamental contributions to chemistry were a result of a conscious effort^{[citation needed]} to fit all experiments into the framework of a single theory. He established the consistent use of the chemical balance, used oxygen to overthrow the phlogiston theory, and developed a new system of chemical nomenclature and made contribution to the modern metric system. Lavoisier also worked to translate the archaic and technical language of chemistry into something that could be easily understood by the largely uneducated masses, leading to an increased public interest in chemistry. All these advances in chemistry led to what is usually called the chemical revolution. The contributions of Lavoisier led to what is now called modern chemistry—the chemistry that is studied in educational institutions all over the world. It is because of these and other contributions that Antoine Lavoisier is often celebrated as the "Father of Modern Chemistry".^[22] The later discovery of Friedrich Wöhler that many natural substances, organic compounds, can indeed be synthesized in a chemistry laboratory also helped the modern chemistry to mature from its infancy.^[23]
The discovery of the chemical elements has a long history from the days of alchemy and culminating in the discovery of the periodic table of the chemical elements by Dmitri Mendeleev (1834–1907)^[24] and later discoveries of some synthetic elements.

Etymology

Main article: Chemistry (etymology)

The word chemistry comes from the word alchemy, an earlier set of practices that encompassed elements of chemistry, metallurgy, philosophy, astrology, astronomy, mysticism and medicine; it is commonly thought of as the quest to turn lead or another common starting material into gold.^[25] The word alchemy in turn is derived from the Arabic word al-kīmīā (الكيمياء), meaning alchemy. The Arabic term is borrowed from the Greek χημία or χημεία.^[26][27] This may have Egyptian origins. Many believe that al-kīmīā is derived from χημία, which is in turn derived from the word Chemi or Kimi, which is the ancient name of Egypt in Egyptian.^[26] Alternately, al-kīmīā may be derived from χημεία, meaning "cast together".^[28]
An alchemist was called a 'chemist' in popular speech, and later the suffix "-ry" was added to this to describe the art of the chemist as "chemistry".

Definitions

In retrospect, the definition of chemistry has changed over time, as new discoveries and theories add to the functionality of the science. Shown below are some of the standard definitions used by various noted chemists:

• Alchemy (330) – the study of the composition of waters, movement, growth, embodying, disembodying, drawing the spirits from bodies and bonding the spirits within bodies (Zosimos).^[29]
• Chymistry (1661) – the subject of the material principles of mixed bodies (Boyle).^[30]
• Chymistry (1663) – a scientific art, by which one learns to dissolve bodies, and draw from them the different substances on their composition, and how to unite them again, and exalt them to a higher perfection (Glaser).^[31]
• Chemistry (1730) – the art of resolving mixed, compound, or aggregate bodies into their principles; and of composing such bodies from those principles (Stahl).^[32]
• Chemistry (1837) – the science concerned with the laws and effects of molecular forces (Dumas).^[33]
• Chemistry (1947) – the science of substances: their structure, their properties, and the reactions that change them into other substances (Pauling).^[34]
• Chemistry (1998) – the study of matter and the changes it undergoes (Chang).^[35]

Basic concepts

Several concepts are essential for the study of chemistry; some of them are:^[36]

Atom

Main article: Atom

An atom is the basic unit of chemistry. It consists of a positively charged core (the atomic nucleus) which contains protons and neutrons, and which maintains a number of electrons to balance the positive charge in the nucleus. The atom is also the smallest entity that can be envisaged to retain the chemical properties of the element, such as electronegativity, ionization potential, preferred oxidation state(s), coordination number, and preferred types of bonds to form (e.g., metallic, ionic, covalent).

Element

Main article: Chemical element

The concept of chemical element is related to that of chemical substance. A chemical element is specifically a substance which is composed of a single type of atom. A chemical element is characterized by a particular number of protons in the nuclei of its atoms. This number is known as the atomic number of the element. For example, all atoms with 6 protons in their nuclei are atoms of the chemical element carbon, and all atoms with 92 protons in their nuclei are atoms of the element uranium. Ninety–four different chemical elements or types of atoms based on the number of protons exist naturally. A further 18 have been recognised by IUPAC as existing artificially only. Although all the nuclei of all atoms belonging to one element will have the same number of protons, they may not necessarily have the same number of neutrons; such atoms are termed isotopes. In fact several isotopes of an element may exist.
The most convenient presentation of the chemical elements is in the periodic table of the chemical elements, which groups elements by atomic number. Due to its ingenious arrangement, groups, or columns, and periods, or rows, of elements in the table either share several chemical properties, or follow a certain trend in characteristics such as atomic radius, electronegativity, etc. Lists of the elements by name, by symbol, and by atomic number are also available.

Compound

Main article: Chemical compound

A compound is a substance with a particular ratio of atoms of particular chemical elements which determines its composition, and a particular organization which determines chemical properties. For example, water is a compound containing hydrogen and oxygen in the ratio of two to one, with the oxygen atom between the two hydrogen atoms, and an angle of 104.5° between them. Compounds are formed and interconverted by chemical reactions.

Substance

Main article: Chemical substance

A chemical substance is a kind of matter with a definite composition and set of properties.^[37] Strictly speaking, a mixture of compounds, elements or compounds and elements is not a chemical substance, but it may be called a chemical. Most of the substances we encounter in our daily life are some kind of mixture; for example: air, alloys, biomass, etc.
Nomenclature of substances is a critical part of the language of chemistry. Generally it refers to a system for naming chemical compounds. Earlier in the history of chemistry substances were given name by their discoverer, which often led to some confusion and difficulty. However, today the IUPAC system of chemical nomenclature allows chemists to specify by name specific compounds amongst the vast variety of possible chemicals. The standard nomenclature of chemical substances is set by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). There are well-defined systems in place for naming chemical species. Organic compounds are named according to the organic nomenclature system.^[38] Inorganic compounds are named according to the inorganic nomenclature system.^[39] In addition the Chemical Abstracts Service has devised a method to index chemical substance. In this scheme each chemical substance is identifiable by a number known as CAS registry number.

Molecule

Main article: Molecule

A molecule is the smallest indivisible portion of a pure chemical substance that has its unique set of chemical properties, that is, its potential to undergo a certain set of chemical reactions with other substances. Molecules can exist as electrically neutral units unlike ions. Molecules are typically a set of atoms bound together by covalent bonds, such that the structure is electrically neutral and all valence electrons are paired with other electrons either in bonds or in lone pairs.

A molecular structure depicts the bonds and relative positions of atoms in a molecule such as that in Paclitaxel shown here

Not all substances consist of discrete molecules. Most chemical elements are composed of lone atoms as their smallest discrete unit. Other types of substances, such as ionic compounds and network solids, are organized in such a way as to lack the existence of identifiable molecules per se. Instead, these substances are discussed in terms of formula units or unit cells as the smallest repeating structure within the substance; as they lack identifiable molecules.
One of the main characteristic of a molecule is its geometry often called its structure. While the structure of diatomic, triatomic or tetra atomic molecules may be trivial, (linear, angular pyramidal etc.) the structure of polyatomic molecules, that are constituted of more than six atoms (of several elements) can be crucial for its chemical nature.

Mole and amount of substance

Main article: Mole (unit)

Mole is a unit to measure amount of substance (also called chemical amount). A mole is the amount of a substance that contains as many elementary entities (atoms, molecules or ions) as there are atoms in 0.012 kilogram (or 12 grams) of carbon-12, where the carbon-12 atoms are unbound, at rest and in their ground state.^[40] The number of entities per mole is known as the Avogadro constant, and is determined empirically. The currently accepted value is 6.02214179(30)×10²³ mol⁻¹ (2007 CODATA). One way to understand the meaning of the term "mole" is to compare and contrast it to terms such as dozen. Just as one dozen eggs contains 12 individual eggs, one mole contains 6.02214179(30)×10²³ atoms, molecules or other particles. The term is used because it is much easier to say, for example, 1 mole of carbon, than it is to say 6.02214179(30)×10²³ carbon atoms, and because moles of chemicals represent a scale that is easy to experience.
The amount of substance of a solute per volume of solution is known as amount of substance concentration, or molarity for short. Molarity is the quantity most commonly used to express the concentration of a solution in the chemical laboratory. The most commonly used units for molarity are mol/L (the official SI units are mol/m³).

Ions and salts

Main article: Ion

An ion is a charged species, an atom or a molecule, that has lost or gained one or more electrons. Positively charged cations (e.g. sodium cation Na⁺) and negatively charged anions (e.g. chloride Cl⁻) can form a crystalline lattice of neutral salts (e.g. sodium chloride NaCl). Examples of polyatomic ions that do not split up during acid-base reactions are hydroxide (OH⁻) and phosphate (PO₄³⁻).
Ions in the gaseous phase are often known as plasma.

Acidity and basicity

Main article: Acid–base reaction

A substance can often be classified as an acid or a base. There are several different theories which explain acid-base behavior. The simplest is Arrhenius theory, which states than an acid is a substance that produces hydronium ions when it is dissolved in water, and a base is one that produces hydroxide ions when dissolved in water. According to Brønsted–Lowry acid-base theory, acids are substances that donate a positive hydrogen ion to another substance in a chemical reaction; by extension, a base is the substance which receives that hydrogen ion. A third common theory is Lewis acid-base theory, which is based on the formation of new chemical bonds. Lewis theory explains that an acid is a substance which is capable of accepting a pair of electrons from another substance during the process of bond formation, while a base is a substance which can provide a pair of electrons to form a new bond. According to concept as per Lewis, the crucial things being exchanged are charges.^{[41][unreliable source?]} There are several other ways in which a substance may be classified as an acid or a base, as is evident in the history of this concept ^[42]
Acid strength is commonly measured by two methods. One measurement, based on the Arrhenius definition of acidity, is pH, which is a measurement of the hydronium ion concentration in a solution, as expressed on a negative logarithmic scale. Thus, solutions that have a low pH have a high hydronium ion concentration, and can be said to be more acidic. The other measurement, based on the Brønsted–Lowry definition, is the acid dissociation constant (K_a), which measure the relative ability of a substance to act as an acid under the Brønsted–Lowry definition of an acid. That is, substances with a higher K_a are more likely to donate hydrogen ions in chemical reactions than those with lower K_a values.

Phase

Main article: Phase (matter)

In addition to the specific chemical properties that distinguish different chemical classifications chemicals can exist in several phases. For the most part, the chemical classifications are independent of these bulk phase classifications; however, some more exotic phases are incompatible with certain chemical properties. A phase is a set of states of a chemical system that have similar bulk structural properties, over a range of conditions, such as pressure or temperature. Physical properties, such as density and refractive index tend to fall within values characteristic of the phase. The phase of matter is defined by the phase transition, which is when energy put into or taken out of the system goes into rearranging the structure of the system, instead of changing the bulk conditions.
Sometimes the distinction between phases can be continuous instead of having a discrete boundary, in this case the matter is considered to be in a supercritical state. When three states meet based on the conditions, it is known as a triple point and since this is invariant, it is a convenient way to define a set of conditions.
The most familiar examples of phases are solids, liquids, and gases. Many substances exhibit multiple solid phases. For example, there are three phases of solid iron (alpha, gamma, and delta) that vary based on temperature and pressure. A principal difference between solid phases is the crystal structure, or arrangement, of the atoms. Another phase commonly encountered in the study of chemistry is the aqueous phase, which is the state of substances dissolved in aqueous solution (that is, in water). Less familiar phases include plasmas, Bose-Einstein condensates and fermionic condensates and the paramagnetic and ferromagnetic phases of magnetic materials. While most familiar phases deal with three-dimensional systems, it is also possible to define analogs in two-dimensional systems, which has received attention for its relevance to systems in biology.

Redox

Main article: Redox

It is a concept related to the ability of atoms of various substances to lose or gain electrons. Substances that have the ability to oxidize other substances are said to be oxidative and are known as oxidizing agents, oxidants or oxidizers. An oxidant removes electrons from another substance. Similarly, substances that have the ability to reduce other substances are said to be reductive and are known as reducing agents, reductants, or reducers. A reductant transfers electrons to another substance, and is thus oxidized itself. And because it "donates" electrons it is also called an electron donor. Oxidation and reduction properly refer to a change in oxidation number—the actual transfer of electrons may never occur. Thus, oxidation is better defined as an increase in oxidation number, and reduction as a decrease in oxidation number.

Bonding

Main article: Chemical bond

Electron atomic and molecular orbitals

Atoms sticking together in molecules or crystals are said to be bonded with one another. A chemical bond may be visualized as the multipole balance between the positive charges in the nuclei and the negative charges oscillating about them.^[43] More than simple attraction and repulsion, the energies and distributions characterize the availability of an electron to bond to another atom.
A chemical bond can be a covalent bond, an ionic bond, a hydrogen bond or just because of Van der Waals force. Each of these kind of bond is ascribed to some potential. These potentials create the interactions which hold atoms together in molecules or crystals. In many simple compounds, Valence Bond Theory, the Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion model (VSEPR), and the concept of oxidation number can be used to explain molecular structure and composition. Similarly, theories from classical physics can be used to predict many ionic structures. With more complicated compounds, such as metal complexes, valence bond theory is less applicable and alternative approaches, such as the molecular orbital theory, are generally used. See diagram on electronic orbitals.

Reaction

Main article: Chemical reaction

When a chemical substance is transformed as a result of its interaction with another or energy, a chemical reaction is said to have occurred. Chemical reaction is therefore a concept related to the 'reaction' of a substance when it comes in close contact with another, whether as a mixture or a solution; exposure to some form of energy, or both. It results in some energy exchange between the constituents of the reaction as well with the system environment which may be a designed vessels which are often laboratory glassware. Chemical reactions can result in the formation or dissociation of molecules, that is, molecules breaking apart to form two or more smaller molecules, or rearrangement of atoms within or across molecules. Chemical reactions usually involve the making or breaking of chemical bonds. Oxidation, reduction, dissociation, acid-base neutralization and molecular rearrangement are some of the commonly used kinds of chemical reactions.
A chemical reaction can be symbolically depicted through a chemical equation. While in a non-nuclear chemical reaction the number and kind of atoms on both sides of the equation are equal, for a nuclear reaction this holds true only for the nuclear particles viz. protons and neutrons.^[44]
The sequence of steps in which the reorganization of chemical bonds may be taking place in the course of a chemical reaction is called its mechanism. A chemical reaction can be envisioned to take place in a number of steps, each of which may have a different speed. Many reaction intermediates with variable stability can thus be envisaged during the course of a reaction. Reaction mechanisms are proposed to explain the kinetics and the relative product mix of a reaction. Many physical chemists specialize in exploring and proposing the mechanisms of various chemical reactions. Several empirical rules, like the Woodward-Hoffmann rules often come handy while proposing a mechanism for a chemical reaction.
According to the IUPAC gold book a chemical reaction is a process that results in the interconversion of chemical species".^[45] Accordingly, a chemical reaction may be an elementary reaction or a stepwise reaction. An additional caveat is made, in that this definition includes cases where the interconversion of conformers is experimentally observable. Such detectable chemical reactions normally involve sets of molecular entities as indicated by this definition, but it is often conceptually convenient to use the term also for changes involving single molecular entities (i.e. 'microscopic chemical events').

Equilibrium

Main article: Chemical equilibrium

Although the concept of equilibrium is widely used across sciences, in the context of chemistry, it arises whenever a number of different states of the chemical composition are possible. For example, in a mixture of several chemical compounds that can react with one another, or when a substance can be present in more than one kind of phase. A system of chemical substances at equilibrium even though having an unchanging composition is most often not static; molecules of the substances continue to react with one another thus giving rise to a dynamic equilibrium. Thus the concept describes the state in which the parameters such as chemical composition remain unchanged over time. Chemicals present in biological systems are invariably not at equilibrium; rather they are far from equilibrium.

Energy

Main article: Energy

In the context of chemistry, energy is an attribute of a substance as a consequence of its atomic, molecular or aggregate structure. Since a chemical transformation is accompanied by a change in one or more of these kinds of structure, it is invariably accompanied by an increase or decrease of energy of the substances involved. Some energy is transferred between the surroundings and the reactants of the reaction in the form of heat or light; thus the products of a reaction may have more or less energy than the reactants. A reaction is said to be exergonic if the final state is lower on the energy scale than the initial state; in the case of endergonic reactions the situation is the reverse. A reaction is said to be exothermic if the reaction releases heat to the surroundings; in the case of endothermic reactions, the reaction absorbs heat from the surroundings.
Chemical reactions are invariably not possible unless the reactants surmount an energy barrier known as the activation energy. The speed of a chemical reaction (at given temperature T) is related to the activation energy E, by the Boltzmann's population factor e ^{− E / kT} - that is the probability of molecule to have energy greater than or equal to E at the given temperature T. This exponential dependence of a reaction rate on temperature is known as the Arrhenius equation. The activation energy necessary for a chemical reaction can be in the form of heat, light, electricity or mechanical force in the form of ultrasound.^[46]
A related concept free energy, which also incorporates entropy considerations, is a very useful means for predicting the feasibility of a reaction and determining the state of equilibrium of a chemical reaction, in chemical thermodynamics. A reaction is feasible only if the total change in the Gibbs free energy is negative, ; if it is equal to zero the chemical reaction is said to be at equilibrium.
There exist only limited possible states of energy for electrons, atoms and molecules. These are determined by the rules of quantum mechanics, which require quantization of energy of a bound system. The atoms/molecules in a higher energy state are said to be excited. The molecules/atoms of substance in an excited energy state are often much more reactive; that is, more amenable to chemical reactions.
The phase of a substance is invariably determined by its energy and the energy of its surroundings. When the intermolecular forces of a substance are such that the energy of the surroundings is not sufficient to overcome them, it occurs in a more ordered phase like liquid or solid as is the case with water (H₂O); a liquid at room temperature because its molecules are bound by hydrogen bonds.^[47] Whereas hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) is a gas at room temperature and standard pressure, as its molecules are bound by weaker dipole-dipole interactions.
The transfer of energy from one chemical substance to another depends on the size of energy quanta emitted from one substance. However, heat energy is often transferred more easily from almost any substance to another because the phonons responsible for vibrational and rotational energy levels in a substance have much less energy than photons invoked for the electronic energy transfer. Thus, because vibrational and rotational energy levels are more closely spaced than electronic energy levels, heat is more easily transferred between substances relative to light or other forms of electronic energy. For example, ultraviolet electromagnetic radiation is not transferred with as much efficacy from one substance to another as thermal or electrical energy.
The existence of characteristic energy levels for different chemical substances is useful for their identification by the analysis of spectral lines. Different kinds of spectra are often used in chemical spectroscopy, e.g. IR, microwave, NMR, ESR, etc. Spectroscopy is also used to identify the composition of remote objects - like stars and distant galaxies - by analyzing their radiation spectra.

Emission spectrum of iron

The term chemical energy is often used to indicate the potential of a chemical substance to undergo a transformation through a chemical reaction or to transform other chemical substances.

Work

In physics, work is the amount of energy transferred to a body by a force acting through a distance in the direction of the force. Like energy, it is a scalar quantity, with SI units of joules. The term work was first coined in 1826 by the French mathematician Gaspard-Gustave Coriolis.^[1][2]
According to the work-energy theorem, if one or more external forces act upon a rigid object, causing its kinetic energy to change from E_k1 to E_k2, then the mechanical work (W) done by the net force is equal to the change in kinetic energy. For translational motion, the theorem can be specified as:^[3]

where m is the mass of the object and v is the object's velocity.
If a force F that is constant with respect to time acts on an object while the object is displaced in a straight line along the length and direction of a vector d, the mechanical work done by the force on the object is the dot product of the vectors F and d:^[4]

If the force and the displacement are parallel and in the same direction (θ = 0), the mechanical work is positive. If the force and the displacement are parallel but in opposite directions (i.e. antiparallel, θ = 180⁰), the mechanical work is negative. If a force F is applied at an angle θ, only the component of the force in the same direction as the displacement (Fcosθ) does work. Thus, if the force acts perpendicular to the displacement (θ = 90⁰ or 270⁰), zero work is done by the force.

Units

See also: Work (thermodynamics)

The SI unit of work is the joule (J), which is defined as the work done by a force of one newton acting over a distance of one meter. This definition is based on Sadi Carnot's 1824 definition of work as "weight liftednewton-metertorque to distinguish its units from work or energy. through a height", which is based on the fact that early steam engines were principally used to lift buckets of water, through a gravitational height, out of flooded ore mines. The dimensionally equivalent (N·m) is sometimes used instead; however, it is also sometimes reserved for
Non-SI units of work include the erg, the foot-pound, the foot-poundal, and the liter-atmosphere.
Heat conduction is not considered to be a form of work, since the energy is transferred into atomic vibration rather than a macroscopic displacement.

[edit] Zero work

A baseball pitcher does positive work on the ball by transferring energy into it.

Work can be zero even when there is a force. The centripetal force in a uniform circular motion, for example, does zero work since the kinetic energy of the moving object doesn't change. This is because the force is always perpendicular to the motion of the object; only the component of a force parallel to the velocity vector of an object can do work on that object. Likewise when a book sits on a table, the table does no work on the book despite exerting a force equivalent to mg upwards, because no energy is transferred into or out of the book.
If the table were moving upward at a constant velocity, then it will be doing work on the book, since the force of the table on the book will be acting through a distance. However, the force of gravity will be doing equal and opposite work on the book, and the net rate of work done on the book will still be zero, as evidenced by the fact that its kinetic energy remains constant throughout the process. A current that generates a magnetic field can also produce a magnetic force where a charged particle exerts a force on a magnetic field, but the magnetic force can do no work because the charge velocity is perpendicular to the magnetic field and in order for a force or an object to perform work, the force has to be in the same direction as the distance that it moves.

Mathematical calculation

Force and displacement

Force and displacement are both vector quantities and they are combined using the dot product to evaluate the mechanical work, a scalar quantity:

      (1)

where is the angle between the force and the displacement vector.

Gravity F=mg does work W=mgh along any descending path

In order for this formula to be valid for translational motion, the magnitude and direction of the force must remain constant. The object's path may have any shape: the work done is independent of the path and is determined only by the total displacement vector . A most common example is the work done by gravity – see diagram. The object descends along a curved path, but the work is calculated from , which gives the familiar result .
More generally, if the force causes (or affects) rotation of the object, displacement of the point to which the force is applied (the application point) must be used to calculate the work. This is also true for the case of variable force (below) where, however, magnitude of can equally be interpreted as differential displacement magnitude or differential length of the path of the application point.
In situations where the force changes over time, equation (1) is not generally applicable. But it is possible to divide the motion into small steps, such that the force is well approximated as being constant for each step, and then to express the overall work as the sum over these steps. This will give an approximate result, which can be improved by further subdivisions into smaller steps (numerical integration). The exact result is obtained as the mathematical limit of this process, leading to the general definition below.
The general definition of mechanical work is given by the following line integral:

      (2)

where:

is the path or curve traversed by the object;

is the force vector; and

is the position vector.

The expression is an inexact differential which means that the calculation of is path-dependent and cannot be differentiated to give .
Equation (2) explains how a non-zero force can do zero work. The simplest case is where the force is always perpendicular to the direction of motion, making the integrand always zero. This is what happens during circular motion. However, even if the integrand sometimes takes nonzero values, it can still integrate to zero if it is sometimes negative and sometimes positive.
The possibility of a nonzero force doing zero work illustrates the difference between work and a related quantity, impulse, which is the integral of force over time. Impulse measures change in a body's momentum, a vector quantity sensitive to direction, whereas work considers only the magnitude of the velocity. For instance, as an object in uniform circular motion traverses half of a revolution, its centripetal force does no work, but it transfers a nonzero impulse.

A force of constant magnitude and perpendicular to the lever arm

Torque and rotation

Work done by a torque can be calculated in a similar manner, as is easily seen when a force of constant magnitude is applied perpendicularly to a lever arm. After extraction of this constant value, the integral in the equation (2) gives the path length of the application point, i.e. the circular arc , and the work done is .
However, the arc length can be calculated from the angle of rotation (expressed in radians) as , and the ensuing product is equal to the torque applied to the lever arm. Therefore, a constant torque does work as follows:

Frame of reference

The work done by a force acting on an object depends on the choice of reference frame because displacements and velocities are dependent on the reference frame in which the observations are being made.^[5]
The change in kinetic energy also depends on the choice of reference frame because kinetic energy is a function of velocity. However, regardless of the choice of reference frame, the work energy theorem remains valid and the work done on the object is equal to the change in kinetic energy.^[6]

References

1. ^ Jammer, Max (1957). Concepts of Force. Dover Publications, Inc.. ISBN 0-486-40689-X. 
2. ^ Sur une nouvelle dénomination et sur une nouvelle unité à introduire dans la dynamique, Académie des sciences, August 1826
3. ^ Tipler (1991), page 138.
4. ^ ^{a b} Resnick, Robert and Halliday, David (1966), Physics, Section 7-2 (Vol I and II, Combined edition), Wiley International Edition, Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 66-11527
5. ^ Resnick, Robert and Halliday, David (1966), Physics, Section 1-3 (Vol I and II, Combined edition), Wiley International Edition, Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 66-11527
6. ^ Resnick, Robert and Halliday, David, Physics, Section 4-6