“Chemistry is all around us.” This is a very common chemistry textbook phrase. It never seems to be missing—especially in general chemistry texts. Most of you have probably heard something like it. However, I have noticed that, while most of us will not deny its validity, we really don’t care. After all, chemistry was one of those subjects that were foisted upon our young high school minds. So, we endured it. We passed it and then promptly forgot it. Of course, this attitude can be applied to any field, but I seem to have found a special vehemence against chemistry. After all, math is useful, English is necessary, music is nice, and Biology is endurable. However, chemistry and physics are largely unknown and little understood. Therefore, they’re boring, hard, dry, and useless.
In defense of this paradigm, a lot of the general chemistry (and physics) encountered in general education doesn’t immediately aid our understanding of the world. It’s too far removed. Who really cares about s,p, d, or f orbitals? (Just by mentioning them, I’ve lost half of you.) What does the polarity of the O-H bond have to do with things that matter—like family, friends, food, or…writing your novel?
Science deepens one’s understanding of how things work. By gaining more information, it will inevitably change the way you write. The more you know and understand, the greater your well of inspiration will be. Chemistry is more important than you currently comprehend. Its purpose is not to merely to put students to sleep, mix explosive substances, or split hairs over how many significant digits to display in your calculations. Chemistry is a branch of science that focuses on identifying substances based on what they are made of and exploring how their composition affects their properties. In other words, chemists are curious about what stuff is, what it does, and how those two connect. Then, after researching the aforementioned areas, the science can be applied into technology. Hey, the inventor of Tupperware was a chemist!
So, to summarize, the intent behind this blog is to provide useful background information in the sciences(mainly in chemistry), to aid aspiring fiction writers in their creations or to inform the curious. The goal is to inform in a fun, interesting, and interactive way. I am NOT an expert. This is not a “stump the chemist” blog. Please aspire to higher things. The former is just way too easy. I hope you’ll stick around and enjoy the wonders yet to come.
