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Oxygen
The chemical element was discovered by English chemist, Joseph Priestly. On August 8th of 1774, Priestly had conducted his most famous experiment. The results to this ended up in him naming his findings "dephlogisticated air" on the theory that it supported combustion so well because it had no phlogiston in it & hence could absorb the maximum amount during burning. -
Atomic Theory
John Dalton was an English meteorologist & chemist who formulated the first modern description of the concept of the atom as the fundamental building block of chemical structures. Dalton had developed the law of multiple proportions by studying upon the works & findings of Lavoisier & Proust. His atomic theory stated that all matter was composed of atoms & that all atoms of an element were identical, different atoms - differing size & mass. -
Electrochemistry
Electrochemistry is the branch of physical chemistry that studies the relationship between electricity & chemical change. These reactions involve electric charges moving between electrodes & an electrolyte. Humphry Davy was a Cornish chemist & inventor who created this new field of chemistry. -
Avogadro's Law
In 1811, Amedeo Avogadro had hypothesized that equal volumes of of gases at the same temperature and pressure contain the equal numbers of molecules. However, this hypothesis was neglected by his contemporaries for years. When it became known as indeed correct, they named this theory Avogadro's Law, a fundamental law of gases. -
Atomic Light Signatures
in 1814, German astronomer Joseph Fraunhofer discovered that the sun's energy was not radiated evenly in all frequencies of the light spectrum, but rather was concentrated in spikes of energy at certain specific frequencies. n 1858, 47-year-old Bunsen had been developing photochemistry-the study of light given off by burning elements. During this work, Bunsen had invented a new kind of burner in which air and gas were mixed prior to burning. -
Synthesis of Urea
The Wohler Synthesis was the first chemical reaction where an organic compound had been created from inorganic reactants. It was discovered in 1828 by Friedrich Wohler in an attempt to synthesize ammonium cyanate. This is considered the starting point of modern organic chemistry. -
Structural Formula
Skeletal formulas are the standard notation for more organic complex molecules. It was first used by German chemist August Kekule & is seen as the principal founder of the theory of chemical structure. His theory proceeded from the idea of atomic valence and the ability of carbon atoms to link to each other. -
The Periodic Table of Elements
The Periodic Table is an arrangement of the chemical elements & are organized on the basis of their atomic numbers, electron configurations & reoccurring chemical properties. In 1869, a Russian chemist by the name of Dmitri Mendeleev was the first scientist to make a periodic table similar to the one used today when he tried figuring out the best way he could explain the concept to his students. -
The Electron Discovery Experiment
Toward the end of the 19th century while studying electric discharges, Thomson made a series of experiments to study the properties of the rays coming from the cathode. He observed that the cathode rays were deflected by both electric and magnetic fields - they were obviously electrically charged. By carefully measuring how the cathode rays were deflected by electric and magnetic fields, Thomson was able to determine the ratio between the electric charge (e) and the mass (m) of the rays. -
Radioactivity
X-rays are a form of electromagnetic radiations which emitted when matter is bombarded with fast electrons. Although, many people had observed the effects of X-ray beams before, but Roentgen was the first one to study them systematically. Marie Cury also made a breakthrough when she conducted pioneer research on radioactivity and such. -
Plastic
Plastic is a word that originally meant “pliable and easily shaped.” The first synthetic polymer was invented in 1869 by John Wesley Hyatt, who was inspired by a New York firm’s offer of $10,000 for anyone who could provide a substitute for ivory. In 1907 Leo Baekeland invented Bakelite, the first fully synthetic plastic. -
Chemical Bonds
In 1916, Gilbert Lewis published his seminal paper suggesting that a chemical bond is a pair of electrons shared by two atoms. Lewis was instrumental in developing a bonding theory based on the number of electrons in the outermost “valence” shell of the atom. -
Fullerenes
A fullerene is a molecule of carbon in the form of a hollow sphere and many other shapes. The first fullerene to be discovered was manufactured by Richard Smalley and others. It has been found to occur in nature and more recently in outer space.
