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Chemistry is a natural science. Chemistry is a natural science




Chemistry is a natural science. Like other natural sciences, it studies a certain side of nature and natural phenomena. Unlike other natural sciences, chemistry pays close attention to matter. A substance is, for example, water, some metal, salt, a certain protein.

Many objects that surround us consist not of one, but of many substances. For example, a living organism consists of water, proteins, fats, carbohydrates and a number of other substances. Even substances that are homogeneous in appearance can be mixtures of different substances (for example, solutions).

The science of chemistry throughout history has made it possible not only to study the structure and properties of substances, but also to obtain new substances that were not previously in nature. These are, for example, various plastics, organic substances.

Chemistry, like mathematics, has its own formal language. The interactions of substances here are usually expressed through a certain record of chemical reactions, and the substances themselves are written in the form of formulas.

Chemistry explains many of the changes in nature. The main question that chemistry answers is why do some substances turn into others?

Science is one of the most important areas of human activity at the present stage of development of world civilization. Today there are hundreds of different disciplines: technical, social, humanitarian, natural sciences. What are they studying? How did natural science develop in the historical aspect?

Natural science is...

What is natural science? When did it originate and what directions does it consist of?

Natural science is a discipline that studies natural phenomena and phenomena that are external to the subject of research (man). The term "natural science" in Russian comes from the word "nature", which is a synonym for the word "nature".

The foundation of natural science can be considered mathematics, as well as philosophy. By and large, all modern natural sciences came out of them. At first, naturalists tried to answer all questions concerning nature and its various manifestations. Then, as the subject of research became more complex, natural science began to break up into separate disciplines, which over time became more and more isolated.

In the context of modern times, natural science is a complex of scientific disciplines about nature, taken in their close relationship.

The history of the formation of natural sciences

The development of the natural sciences took place gradually. However, human interest in natural phenomena manifested itself in antiquity.

Naturphilosophy (in fact, science) actively developed in Ancient Greece. Ancient thinkers, with the help of primitive methods of research and, at times, intuition, were able to make a number of scientific discoveries and important assumptions. Even then, natural philosophers were sure that the Earth revolves around the Sun, they could explain solar and lunar eclipses, and quite accurately measured the parameters of our planet.

In the Middle Ages, the development of natural science slowed down noticeably and was heavily dependent on the church. Many scientists at that time were persecuted for the so-called heterodoxy. All scientific research and research, in fact, came down to the interpretation and substantiation of the scriptures. Nevertheless, in the era of the Middle Ages, logic and theory developed significantly. It is also worth noting that at this time the center of natural philosophy (the direct study of natural phenomena) geographically shifted towards the Arab-Muslim region.

In Europe, the rapid development of natural science begins (resumes) only in the 17th-18th centuries. This is a time of large-scale accumulation of factual knowledge and empirical material (results of "field" observations and experiments). The natural sciences of the 18th century are also based in their research on the results of numerous geographical expeditions, voyages, and studies of newly discovered lands. In the 19th century, logic and theoretical thinking again came to the fore. At this time, scientists are actively processing all the collected facts, putting forward various theories, formulating patterns.

Thales, Eratosthenes, Pythagoras, Claudius Ptolemy, Archimedes, Galileo Galilei, Rene Descartes, Blaise Pascal, Nikola Tesla, Mikhail Lomonosov and many other famous scientists should be referred to the most outstanding naturalists in the history of world science.

The problem of classification of natural science

The basic natural sciences include: mathematics (which is also often called the "queen of sciences"), chemistry, physics, biology. The problem of classification of natural science has existed for a long time and worries the minds of more than a dozen scientists and theorists.

This dilemma was best handled by Friedrich Engels, a German philosopher and scientist who is better known as a close friend of Karl Marx and co-author of his most famous work called Capital. He was able to distinguish two main principles (approaches) of the typology of scientific disciplines: this is an objective approach, as well as the principle of development.

The most detailed was offered by the Soviet methodologist Bonifatiy Kedrov. It has not lost its relevance even today.

List of natural sciences

The whole complex of scientific disciplines is usually divided into three large groups:

  • humanities (or social) sciences;
  • technical;
  • natural.

Nature is studied by the latter. The full list of natural sciences is presented below:

  • astronomy;
  • biology;
  • the medicine;
  • geology;
  • soil science;
  • physics;
  • natural history;
  • chemistry;
  • botany;
  • zoology;
  • psychology.

As for mathematics, scientists do not have a common opinion as to which group of scientific disciplines it should be attributed. Some consider it a natural science, others an exact one. Some methodologists include mathematics in a separate class of so-called formal (or abstract) sciences.

Chemistry

Chemistry is a vast area of ​​natural science, the main object of study of which is matter, its properties and structure. This science also considers objects at the atomic-molecular level. It also studies chemical bonds and reactions that occur when different structural particles of a substance interact.

For the first time, the theory that all natural bodies consist of smaller (not visible to humans) elements was put forward by the ancient Greek philosopher Democritus. He suggested that every substance includes smaller particles, just as words are made up of different letters.

Modern chemistry is a complex science that includes several dozen disciplines. These are inorganic and organic chemistry, biochemistry, geochemistry, even cosmochemistry.

Physics

Physics is one of the oldest sciences on earth. The laws discovered by it are the basis, the foundation for the entire system of disciplines of natural science.

The term "physics" was first used by Aristotle. In those distant times, it was practically identical philosophy. Physics began to turn into an independent science only in the 16th century.

Today, physics is understood as a science that studies matter, its structure and movement, as well as the general laws of nature. There are several main sections in its structure. These are classical mechanics, thermodynamics, the theory of relativity and some others.

Physiography

The demarcation between the natural and human sciences ran like a thick line through the "body" of the once unified geographical science, dividing its individual disciplines. Thus, physical geography (as opposed to economic and social) found itself in the bosom of natural science.

This science studies the geographic shell of the Earth as a whole, as well as individual natural components and systems that make up its composition. Modern physical geography consists of a number of them:

  • landscape science;
  • geomorphology;
  • climatology;
  • hydrology;
  • oceanology;
  • soil science and others.

Natural and Human Sciences: Unity and Differences

Humanities, natural sciences - are they as far apart as it might seem?

Of course, these disciplines differ in the object of research. The natural sciences study nature, the humanities focus their attention on man and society. The humanities cannot compete with the natural disciplines in accuracy, they are not able to mathematically prove their theories and confirm hypotheses.

On the other hand, these sciences are closely related, intertwined with each other. Especially in the 21st century. So, mathematics has long been introduced into literature and music, physics and chemistry - into art, psychology - into social geography and economics, and so on. In addition, it has long become obvious that many important discoveries are made just at the junction of several scientific disciplines, which, at first glance, have absolutely nothing in common.

Finally...

Natural science is a branch of science that studies natural phenomena, processes and phenomena. There are a huge number of such disciplines: physics, mathematics and biology, geography and astronomy.

The natural sciences, despite numerous differences in the subject and methods of research, are closely related to social and humanitarian disciplines. This connection is especially strong in the 21st century, when all the sciences converge and intertwine.

Chemistry - the science of the transformations of substances associated with a change in the electronic environment of atomic nuclei. In this definition, it is necessary to further clarify the terms "substance" and "science".

According to the Chemical Encyclopedia:

Substance A type of matter that has a rest mass. It consists of elementary particles: electrons, protons, neutrons, mesons, etc. Chemistry studies mainly matter organized into atoms, molecules, ions and radicals. Such substances are usually divided into simple and complex (chemical compounds). Simple substances are formed by atoms of one chemical. element and therefore are a form of its existence in a free state, for example, sulfur, iron, ozone, diamond. Complex substances are formed by different elements and may have a constant composition.

There are many differences in the interpretation of the term "science". René Descartes' (1596-1650) statement is quite applicable here: "Define the meaning of words, and you will save mankind from half of its delusions." Science it is customary to call the sphere of human activity, the function of which is the development and theoretical schematization of objective knowledge about reality; a branch of culture that did not exist at all times and not among all peoples. Canadian philosopher William Hatcher defines modern science as “a way of knowing the real world, including both the reality felt by the human senses and the invisible reality, a way of knowing based on building testable models of this reality.” Such a definition is close to the understanding of science by academician V.I. Vernadsky, the English mathematician A. Whitehead, and other famous scientists.

In scientific models of the world, three levels are usually distinguished, which in a particular discipline can be represented in a different ratio:

* empirical material (experimental data);

* idealized images (physical models);

*mathematical description (formulas and equations).

Visual-model consideration of the world inevitably leads to the approximation of any model. A. Einstein (1879-1955) said "As long as mathematical laws describe reality, they are indefinite, and when they cease to be indefinite, they lose touch with reality."

Chemistry is one of the natural sciences that studies the world around us with all the richness of its forms and the variety of phenomena occurring in it. The specifics of natural science knowledge can be defined by three features: truth, intersubjectivity and consistency. The truth of scientific truths is determined by the principle of sufficient reason: every true thought must be justified by other thoughts, the truth of which has been proven. Intersubjectivity means that each researcher should get the same results when studying the same object in the same conditions. The systematic nature of scientific knowledge implies its strict inductive-deductive structure.

Chemistry is the science of the transformation of substances. It studies the composition and structure of substances, the dependence of the properties of substances on their composition and structure, the conditions and ways of transformation of one substance into another. Chemical changes are always associated with physical changes. Therefore, chemistry is closely related to physics. Chemistry is also related to biology, since biological processes are accompanied by continuous chemical transformations.

The improvement of research methods, primarily experimental technology, led to the division of science into ever narrower areas. As a result, the quantity and "quality", i.e. the reliability of information has increased. However, the impossibility for one person to have complete knowledge even for related scientific fields has created new problems. Just as in military strategy the weakest points of defense and offensive are at the junction of fronts, in science the least developed areas remain those that cannot be unambiguously classified. Among other reasons, one can also note the difficulty in obtaining the appropriate qualification level (academic degree) for scientists working in the areas of the “junction of sciences”. But the main discoveries of our time are also being made there.

In modern life, especially in human production activities, chemistry plays an extremely important role. There is almost no industry that is not related to the use of chemistry. Nature gives us only raw materials - wood, ore, oil, etc. By subjecting natural materials to chemical processing, they obtain various substances necessary for agriculture, industrial production, medicine, everyday life - fertilizers, metals, plastics, varnishes, paints, medicinal substances , soap, etc. For the processing of natural raw materials, it is necessary to know the laws of the transformation of substances, and this knowledge is provided by chemistry. The development of the chemical industry is one of the most important conditions for technological progress.

Chemical systems

Object of study in chemistry - chemical system . A chemical system is a collection of substances that interact and are mentally or actually isolated from the environment. Completely different objects can serve as examples of a system.

The simplest carrier of chemical properties is an atom - a system consisting of a nucleus and electrons moving around it. As a result of the chemical interaction of atoms, molecules (radicals, ions, atomic crystals) are formed - systems consisting of several nuclei, in the general field of which electrons move. Macrosystems consist of a combination of a large number of molecules - solutions of various salts, a mixture of gases above the surface of a catalyst in a chemical reaction, etc.

Depending on the nature of the interaction of the system with the environment, open, closed and isolated systems are distinguished. open system A system is called a system capable of exchanging energy and mass with the environment. For example, when soda is mixed in an open vessel with a solution of hydrochloric acid, the reaction proceeds:

Na 2 CO 3 + 2HCl → 2NaCl + CO 2 + H 2 O.

The mass of this system decreases (carbon dioxide and partially water vapor escape), part of the released heat is spent on heating the surrounding air.

Closed A system is called a system that can only exchange energy with the environment. The system discussed above, located in a closed vessel, will be an example of a closed system. In this case, mass exchange is impossible and the mass of the system remains constant, but the heat of reaction through the walls of the test tube is transferred to the environment.

isolated A system is a system of constant volume in which there is no exchange of mass or energy with the environment. The concept of an isolated system is abstract, because In practice, a completely isolated system does not exist.

A separate part of the system, limited from others by at least one interface, is called phase . For example, a system consisting of water, ice and steam includes three phases and two interfaces (Fig. 1.1). The phase can be mechanically separated from the other phases of the system.

Fig.1.1 - Multiphase system.

Not always the phase throughout the same physical properties and uniform chemical composition. An example is the earth's atmosphere. In the lower layers of the atmosphere, the concentration of gases is higher, and the air temperature is higher, while in the upper layers, the air is rarefied and the temperature drops. Those. the homogeneity of the chemical composition and physical properties throughout the entire phase is not observed in this case. Also, the phase can be discontinuous, for example, pieces of ice floating on the surface of the water, fog, smoke, foam - two-phase systems in which one phase is discontinuous.

A system consisting of substances in the same phase is called homogeneous . A system consisting of substances in different phases and having at least one interface is called heterogeneous .

The substances that make up a chemical system are the components. Component can be isolated from the system and exist outside of it. For example, it is known that when sodium chloride is dissolved in water, it decomposes into Na + and Cl - ions, however, these ions cannot be considered components of the system - a salt solution in water, because they cannot be isolated from a given solution and exist separately. The ingredients are water and sodium chloride.

The state of the system is determined by its parameters. Parameters can be set both at the molecular level (coordinates, momentum of each of the molecules, bond angles, etc.) and at the macro level (for example, pressure, temperature).

The structure of the atom.


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