Report: Chemistry in everyday life. The benefits and harms of chemistry in human life briefly

The importance of chemistry in human life is difficult to overestimate. Let us present the fundamental areas in which chemistry has a creative impact on people’s lives.

1. The emergence and development of human life is not possible without chemistry. It is chemical processes, many of whose secrets scientists have not yet revealed, that are responsible for that gigantic transition from inanimate matter to the simplest single-celled organisms, and then to the pinnacle of the modern evolutionary process - man.

2. Most of the material needs that arise in human life are served by natural chemistry or are satisfied as a result of the use of chemical processes in production.

3. Even the lofty and humanistic aspirations of people are fundamentally based on the chemistry of the human body, and, in particular, strongly depend on the chemical processes in the human brain.

Of course, all the richness and diversity of life cannot be reduced only to chemistry. But along with physics and psychology, chemistry as a science is a determining factor in the development of human civilization.

Chemistry of life

As far as we currently know, our planet formed approximately 4.6 billion years ago, and the simplest fermenting single-celled life forms have existed for 3.5 billion years. Already 3.1 billion years ago they could have used photosynthesis, but geological data on the oxidizing state of sedimentary iron deposits indicate that the Earth's atmosphere became oxidizing only 1.8-1.4 billion years ago. Multicellular life forms, which apparently depended on the abundance of energy possible only by breathing oxygen, appeared on Earth approximately a billion to 700 million years ago, and it was at that time that the further evolution of higher organisms began to take shape. The most revolutionary step since the origin of life itself was the use of an extraterrestrial source of energy, the Sun. Ultimately, this is what turned the meager sprouts of life, which used random natural molecules with a lot of free energy, into a huge force capable of transforming the surface of the planet and even extending beyond its boundaries.

Currently, scientists are of the view that the origin of life on Earth occurred in a reducing atmosphere, which consisted of ammonia, methane, water and carbon dioxide, but did not contain free oxygen.
The first living organisms obtained energy by decomposing molecules of non-biological origin with large free energy into smaller molecules without oxidizing them. It is assumed that in the early stages of the Earth's existence, it had a reducing atmosphere consisting of gases such as hydrogen, methane, water, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, but containing little or no free oxygen. Free oxygen would destroy organic compounds faster than they could be synthesized as a result of naturally occurring processes (under the influence of electrical discharge, ultraviolet radiation, heat or natural radioactivity). Under these reducing conditions, organic molecules that were formed by non-biological means could not be destroyed by oxidation, as happens in our time, but continued to accumulate over thousands of years, until finally compact localized formations of chemical substances appeared. which can already be considered living organisms.
The living organisms that emerged could maintain existence by destroying naturally occurring organic compounds, absorbing their energy. But if this were the only source of energy, then life on our planet would be extremely limited. Fortunately, about 3 billion years ago, important metal compounds with porphyrins appeared, opening the way to the use of an entirely new source of energy: sunlight. The first step that raised life on Earth above the role of a simple consumer of organic compounds was the inclusion of coordination chemistry processes.

Apparently, the restructuring was a side effect of the emergence of a new method of storing energy - photosynthesis * - which gave its owners a huge advantage over simple enzymatic energy absorbers. Organisms that developed this new property could use the energy of sunlight to synthesize their own energy-intensive molecules and no longer depend on what was in their environment. They became the predecessors of all green plants.
Today, all living organisms can be divided into two categories: those that are able to make their own food using sunlight, and those that are not. Most likely, its related bacteria are today living fossils, descendants of those ancient fermentable anaerobes that retreated into rare anaerobic regions of the world when the atmosphere as a whole accumulated large quantities of free oxygen and acquired an oxidizing character. Since organisms of the second category exist due to the organisms of the first category they eat, the accumulation of energy through photosynthesis is the source of driving force for everything living on Earth.

The general reaction of photosynthesis in green plants is the reverse of the combustion of glucose and occurs with the absorption of a significant amount of energy.

6 CO 2 + 6 H 2 O --> C 6 H 12 O 6 + 6 O 2

The water is split into its elements, which creates a source of hydrogen atoms to reduce carbon dioxide into glucose, and unwanted oxygen gas is released into the atmosphere. The energy required to carry out this highly non-spontaneous process is provided by sunlight. In the most ancient forms of bacterial photosynthesis, the source of reducing hydrogen was not water, but hydrogen sulfide, organic matter, or hydrogen gas itself, but the easy availability of water made this the most convenient source, and it is now used by all algae and green plants. The simplest organisms that carry out photosynthesis with the release of oxygen are blue-green algae. It is more correct to designate them by the modern name cyanobacteria, since they are, in fact, bacteria that have learned to extract their own food from carbon dioxide, water and sunlight.

Unfortunately, photosynthesis releases a dangerous byproduct, oxygen. Oxygen was not only useless to early organisms, it competed with them by oxidizing naturally occurring organic compounds before they could be metabolized by those organisms. Oxygen was a much more efficient “devourer” of energy-intensive compounds than living matter. Even worse, the layer of ozone that gradually formed from oxygen in the upper atmosphere blocked the sun's ultraviolet radiation and further slowed the natural synthesis of organic compounds. From all modern points of view, the appearance of free oxygen in the atmosphere was a threat to life.
But, as often happens, life managed to get around this obstacle and even turned it into an advantage. The waste products of the primary protozoa were compounds such as lactic acid and ethanol. These substances are much less energy-intensive compared to sugars, but they are capable of releasing large amounts of energy if they are completely oxidized to CO 2 and H 2 O. As a result of evolution, living organisms arose that are capable of “fixing” dangerous oxygen in the form of H 2 O and CO 2 , and in return receive the energy of combustion of what was previously their waste. The benefits of burning food with oxygen have proven to be so great that the vast majority of life forms - plants and animals - now use oxygen respiration.

When new sources of energy appeared, a new problem arose, no longer associated with obtaining food or oxygen, but with transporting oxygen to the proper place in the body. Small organisms could make do with simple diffusion of gases through the liquids they contained, but this was not enough for multicellular creatures. Thus, another obstacle arose before evolution.
Breaking the deadlock for the third time was possible thanks to the processes of coordination chemistry. Molecules appeared, consisting of iron, porphyrin and protein, in which iron could bind an oxygen molecule without oxidizing. Oxygen is simply transported to different parts of the body to be released under the right conditions - acidity and lack of oxygen. One of these molecules, hemoglobin, carries O2 in the blood, and the other, myoglobin, receives and stores (stores) oxygen in muscle tissue until it is needed in chemical processes. As a result of the appearance of myoglobin and hemoglobin, restrictions on the size of living organisms were lifted. This led to the emergence of a variety of multicellular organisms, and ultimately humans.

* Photosynthesis is the process of converting light energy into chemical bond energy of the resulting substances.

** Metabolism is the breakdown of energy-rich substances and the extraction of their energy.

Chemistry as a mirror of human life.

Look around and you will see that the life of a modern person is impossible without chemistry. We use chemistry in food production. We drive cars whose metal, rubber and plastic are made using chemical processes. We use perfumes, eau de toilette, soap and deodorants, the production of which is unthinkable without chemicals. There is even an opinion that the most sublime human feeling, love, is a set of certain chemical reactions in the body.
This approach to considering the role of chemistry in human life is, in my opinion, simplified, and I suggest you deepen and expand it, moving to a completely new plane of assessment of chemistry and its impact on human society.

Presentation on chemistry by student 8 "A" Fedotova Elizaveta on the topic: "The role of chemistry in people's lives"

Chemistry in human life is very important, because these processes surround us everywhere: from cooking to biological processes in the body. Advances in this area of knowledge have brought both harm to humanity (the creation of weapons of mass destruction) and provided salvation from death (the development of medicines for diseases, the cultivation of artificial organs, etc.). Knowledge of this science is necessary: so many contradictory discoveries have not occurred in any other field of knowledge.

Life Chemical processes: when we light a match; maintaining personal hygiene when a person uses soap that foams when interacting with water; washing using powders and fabric softeners; when a person drinks tea with lemon, the color of the drink weakens; when people make repairs and mix cement, burn bricks, slak lime with water. The most complex chemical processes take place that we don’t think about in everyday life, but not a single person could do without them.

Medicine By mixing substances, medicines are obtained, and when they react with the cells of the body, recovery occurs. Chemistry can play both a constructive role in medicine and a destructive one, because not only medicines are created, but also poisons - toxic substances that are harmful to human health. There are these types of toxic substances: harmful; annoying; aggressive; carcinogenic.

Biological side of life The absorption of food, breathing of humans and animals is based precisely on chemical reactions. Photosynthesis, without which people cannot live, is also accompanied by chemical processes. Some scientists believe that the origin of life on our planet occurred in an environment consisting of carbon dioxide, ammonia, water and methane, and the first organisms obtained energy for life by decomposing molecules without oxidation. These are the simplest chemical reactions that accompany the origin of life on Earth.

Production Even in ancient times, crafts based on chemical processes were widespread: for example, the creation of ceramics, metal processing, and the use of natural dyes. Today, the petrochemical and chemical industries are one of the most significant sectors of the economy, and chemical processes and knowledge about them play an important role in society. It depends on humanity how to use them - for creative or destructive purposes, because among the variety of chemicals one can also find those dangerous to humans (explosive, oxidizing, flammable, etc.). Chemistry in human life is a panacea for diseases, weapons, economics, cooking, and, of course, life itself.

If a few decades ago a person was asked the question: “What does he associate with the word “chemistry”?”, then most likely he would remember flasks with a seething cloudy liquid inside, a coil with steam whistling out of its spout, and a strict teacher, writing intricate formulas and equations on the blackboard.

But that would have been several decades ago... And in our time, when the gaze of humanity extends from the microcosm, which is increasingly revealing its secrets to us, to the in-depth research of the universe, striking in its scale, chemistry has firmly entered all spheres of our lives.

So modern housewives can no longer imagine home life without certain products for caring for clothes, for washing dishes, floors, windows, and washing clothes. Household chemicals for a modern woman, as for a chemist, have become an assistant that saves her time, and at the same time allows her to maintain cleanliness, hygiene, and order at a high level.

How can one underestimate the importance of chemistry for agriculture? And it doesn’t matter who we’re talking about, be it a large agricultural enterprise, a middle peasant - a farmer or a grandmother in her small garden. All of them have in their arsenal fertilizers, means to combat plant diseases, as well as various pests. It is very important to understand that modern agricultural production would be ineffective if it did not have at its disposal the means that chemistry gives it.

Walking along the street past beautiful modern buildings, Khrushchev buildings that are living out their days, or Ryazanov’s Soviet-style nine-story buildings of the same type, pay attention to the windows. You will see that almost all of them are made of metal-plastic. Now look a little higher. How great does a roof look, finished with ceramic or polymer-sand tiles based on thermoplastic-composite polymers. Here is a polycarbonate canopy that seems to hover over the entrance to the office. And the path leading to it is made of a material that is heat-shrinkable bitumen on epoxy resin with calcined bauxide filler, which provides increased grip on the road. You can also remember finishing materials, all kinds of paints, varnishes, adhesives and much more, which construction, finishing and repair work cannot do without.

Pharmaceuticals. These days there is explosive growth in this industry. Without the participation of chemistry in this process, this would be impossible. It is the advanced achievements in this science that have led to a qualitative increase in the production of new drugs.

Motorists appreciate the presence of chemistry in our lives. After all, like nowhere else, here you can see the widest range of different products, united by a common name - auto chemicals. Here you can find additives for the engine, gearboxes, body paint care products, glass anti-fog, anti-rain, car interior care products and much more.

A rolling rumble comes from above - this is a modern airbus, slightly banking, entering a familiar glide path. Somewhere below, a high-speed train is picking up speed. And thousands of kilometers away, a new submarine is diving into the seething depths of the ocean. All this is united by the research of chemist scientists in the field of the latest composite materials using modern nanotechnologies. It is these researches that give impetus to high-tech production.

Glycine was the first of twenty different amino acids isolated from natural proteins in the next century.

French chemist Michel Eugene Chevreul (1786-1889) devoted the first half of his very long creative life to the study of fats. In 1809, he treated soap (made by heating fat with alkali) with acid and isolated what we now call fatty acids. Later he showed that, turning into soap, fats lose glycerol.

Berthelot in 1954, by heating glycerol with stearic acid (one of the most common fatty acids derived from fats), obtained a molecule consisting of a glycerol molecule residue and three stearic acid molecule residues. This tristearin, which turned out to be identical to tristearin obtained from natural fats, was the most complex natural product analogue synthesized to that time. A chemist can synthesize a compound from inanimate products that is organic in all its properties. It is with the synthesis of analogues of natural products that the greatest achievements of organic chemistry of the second half of the 19th and 20th centuries are associated.

The role of chemistry in the modern world and its future.

In an atmosphere of “chemiphobia,” one must be fully aware of the impossibility of social progress without the development of chemistry and the application of its achievements to solve problems of energy, ecology, national defense, healthcare, industrial development, and agriculture.

Suffice it to say that 92% of the energy currently consumed by society comes from chemical processes. And if modern energy creates environmental problems, then it is not chemistry that is to blame, but the illiterate or dishonest use of the products of its activities (chemical processes, products, materials).

We must remember that chemistry is not only DDT, defoliants, nitrates and dioxins. But also sugar and salt, air and validol, milk and magnesium, polyethylene and penicillin.

Everything we use, wear, live in, move around, play with is produced through controlled chemical reactions.

The occupation of a chemist is the invention of reactions that transform the substances around us into those that serve to satisfy our needs.

We need to have an effective treatment for Parkinson's disease. Chemists synthesize carbidopa, a compound that is not found in nature but has high therapeutic activity.

Millions of cars pollute the atmosphere. This problem is partly helped by an automobile catalytic converter of exhaust gases.

There are now more than 8 million synthesized compounds. Chemistry plays a role in solving problems of providing people with food, clothing and housing, new energy sources, in creating renewable substitutes for depleted or rare materials, in promoting human health, in monitoring and protecting the environment.

Since all life processes are caused by chemicals. changes, knowledge of chemical reactions provides the necessary foundation for understanding the essence of life. In this way, chemistry contributes to the solution of problems of universal philosophical significance.

The tragedy in Bhopal (India) clearly shows the two sides of chemistry. Thousands were poisoned by toxic substances used to produce food, saving millions of people each year from starvation.

Why does humanity need chemistry?

surround us constantly

after a person's death and its complete decomposition.

This process includes

Attention!

Chemistry in everyday life

using soap;
making tea with lemon;
extinguishing soda;

Chemistry and the human body

the emergence of life on Earth, and are very important now.

various violations.

help the heart function.

Attention!

Exactly ore mining and processing get new alloys

Oil refining today shows huge h

rubbers and rubbers;
car parts;
plastics;
plumbing;
stationery;
furniture;
toys;
and even food.

Two sides of the coin

certain harm.

Harmful effects of chemicals

and public health.

pollute soil and water

toxic substances

recycle

poisoning the environment and human health.

artificial food

the dead just don't rot

Gradually destroying it.

The benefits of chemistry

internal tension

benefits to society.

medicines;
fertilizers;
energy sources;

Chemistry in human life

Conclusion

took an important place

The development of the chemical industry takes human life to a completely new qualitative level. However, most people consider chemistry to be very complex and impractical science doing abstract things that are completely unnecessary in life. Let's try to dispel this myth.

Why does humanity need chemistry?

The role of chemistry in the modern world is very great. In fact, chemical processes surround us constantly, this applies not only to industrial production or everyday matters.

Chemical reactions in our own body occur every second, decomposing organic substances into simple compounds like carbon dioxide and water, as a result of which we receive energy to perform basic actions.

At the same time, we create new substances necessary for the life and functioning of all organs. Processes only stop after a person's death and its complete decomposition.

The source of nutrition for many organisms, including humans, are plants that have the ability to produce organic substances from water and carbon dioxide.

This process includes chain of complex chemical transformations, the result of which is the formation of biopolymers: fiber, starch, cellulose.

Attention! As a fundamental science, chemistry deals with the formation of ideas about the world, the relationships in it, the unity of the discrete and the continuous.

Chemistry in everyday life

Chemistry is present in human life every day; we are faced with a whole chain of chemical transformations during:

using soap;
making tea with lemon;
extinguishing soda;
lighting a match or gas burner;
preparing sauerkraut;
using powders and other detergents.

All these are chemical reactions, during which others are formed from one substance, and a person receives some benefit from this process. Modern powders contain enzymes that decompose at high temperatures, so washing in hot water is impractical. The effect of eating away stains will be minimal.

The effect of soap in hard water is also significantly reduced, but flakes appear on the surface. You can soften water by boiling, but sometimes this is only possible with the help of chemicals, which are added to washing machine products that reduce the process of scale formation.

Chemistry and the human body

The role of chemistry in human life begins with breathing and digestion of food.

All processes occurring in our body are carried out in dissolved form, and water is the universal solvent. Its magical properties once allowed the emergence of life on Earth, and are very important now.

The basis of a person’s chemical structure is the food he consumes. The better and more complete it is, the better the well-coordinated mechanism of life functions.

If there is a deficiency of any substance in the diet, ongoing processes are inhibited, and the body’s functioning is disrupted. Most often, we consider vitamins to be such important substances. But these are the most noticeable substances, the deficiency of which manifests itself quickly. The lack of other components may not be as visible.

For example, vegetarianism has negative aspects associated with the lack of supply of some complete proteins and amino acids contained in them with food. In such a situation, the body cannot synthesize some of its own proteins, which leads to various violations.

Even table salt must be included in the diet, since its ions help to carry out osmotic pressure, are part of the gastric juice, help the heart function.

In case of various deviations in the activity of organs and systems, a person first of all turns to a pharmacy, which acts as the main promoter of human achievements in the field of chemistry.

More than 90 percent of the medications displayed on pharmacy shelves are artificially synthesized, even if they are present in nature, today it is easier to create them in a factory from individual components than to grow them in natural conditions. And although many of them have side effects, the positive value of eliminating the disease is much greater.

Attention! Cosmetology is almost entirely built on the achievements of chemists. It allows you to prolong a person’s youth and beauty, while at the same time bringing substantial income to cosmetic companies.

Chemistry at the service of industry

Initially, the science of chemistry was driven by curious and also greedy people.

The first were interested in learning what everything consists of and how it turns into something new, the second wanted to learn how to create something valuable that would allow them to acquire material wealth.

One of the most valuable substances is gold, followed by other metals.

Exactly ore mining and processing for the production of metals - the first directions of development of chemistry, they are still very important today. Because they allow get new alloys, use more effective methods of cleaning metals, and so on.

The production of ceramics and porcelain is also very ancient, it is gradually being improved, although it is difficult to surpass some of the ancient masters.

Oil refining today shows huge h the meaning of chemistry, because in addition to gasoline and other types of fuel, several hundred different substances are created from these natural raw materials:

rubbers and rubbers;
synthetic fabrics such as nylon, lycra, polyester;
car parts;
plastics;
detergents and household chemicals;
plumbing;
stationery;
furniture;
toys;
and even food.

The paint and varnish industry is completely based on the achievements of chemistry, all its diversity is created by scientists, synthesizing new substances. Even construction today makes full use of new materials that have properties uncharacteristic of natural substances. Their quality is gradually improving, proving that chemistry is necessary in human life.

Two sides of the coin

The role of chemistry in the modern world is enormous, we can no longer live without it, it gives us a lot of useful substances and phenomena, but at the same time it also causes certain harm.

Harmful effects of chemicals

As a negative factor, chemistry constantly appears in a person’s life. Most often we celebrate environmental consequences and public health.

The abundance of materials alien to our planet leads to the fact that they pollute soil and water, without being subject to natural decay processes.

Moreover, during decomposition or combustion they release large amounts of toxic substances, further poisoning the environment.

And yet, this question can be completely resolved with the help of the same chemistry.

A significant portion of substances can be recycle, again turning into the necessary goods. The problem, rather, is associated not with the shortcomings of chemistry as a science, but with the laziness of man, and his unwillingness to spend extra effort for processing waste products.

The same problem is associated with industrial waste, which today is rarely processed efficiently, poisoning the environment and human health.

The second point that says that chemistry and the human body are incompatible is artificial food, which many manufacturers are trying to stuff us with. But here the question is not so much the achievements of chemistry as the greed of people.

Chemical advances make human life easier, and perhaps the role of chemistry in solving the food problem will be invaluable, especially in combination with advances in genetics. The inability to use these achievements and the desire to earn money - that’s the main enemies of human health, and not the chemical industry at all.

Use of a large number of preservatives in food has become a problem in some countries where the inhabitants are so saturated with these substances that after death the processes of decomposition in them are greatly inhibited, as a result the dead just don't rot, and lie in the ground for many years.

Household chemicals often become a source allergic reactions and poisoning body. Mineral fertilizers and means for treating plants against pests are also dangerous for humans, and they also affect nature have a negative impact, gradually destroying it.

The benefits of chemistry

In psychology there is such a concept - sublimation, which consists in removing internal tension through the redistribution of energy to achieve results in some accessible area.

In chemistry, this term is used to designate the process of obtaining a gaseous substance from a solid without a liquid stage. However, the psychology approach can also be applied in this industry.

Redirecting energy to advances in various chemical-related industries brings a lot benefits to society.

Speaking about why chemistry is needed in human life or industrial production, we recall many of its achievements that have made our lives comfortable and longer:

medicines;
modern materials with unique properties;
fertilizers;
energy sources;
food sources and more.

Chemistry in human life

If chemistry didn't exist. Why study chemistry

Conclusion

The role of chemistry in the modern world is undeniable, it took an important place in the system of human knowledge accumulated over thousands of years. Its active development in the 20th century is somewhat frightening and makes people think about the ultimate goal of using their knowledge. But without knowledge, humanity is only a separate group of individuals with not the best characteristics.

harmful;
annoying;
aggressive;
carcinogenic.

About the benefits of chemistry.

Chemical art arose in ancient times, and it is difficult to distinguish it from production, because, like twin sisters, it was simultaneously born at the forge of a metallurgist, in the workshop of a dyer and a glassmaker. The roots of chemistry grew in the fertile soil of metallurgical and pharmaceutical practice. Few written sources from which one could judge the level of ancient craft chemistry have survived. The study of archaeological objects using modern physical and chemical methods lifts the curtain on the world of ancient man's crafts. It has been established that in Mesopotamia in the 14th-11th centuries. BC. they used furnaces in which, when burning coal, it was possible to obtain a high temperature (1100-1200 C), which made it possible to smelt and purify metals, cook glass from potash and soda, and fire ceramics. Numerous recipes for making ointments, medicines, and paints, set out in papyri, show a high level of development of craft chemistry, cosmetics and pharmacy already in the middle of the second millennium BC. According to A. Lucas, “cosmetics are as old as human vanity.” Recipes for making food products, processing and dyeing leather and furs became widespread in ancient times. In the fifth millennium BC. e. The practical technology of tanning, dyeing, perfumery, and the production of detergents were well developed. One of the surviving manuscripts of Ancient Egypt, the so-called “Papyrus of Eberes” (16th century BC), contains a number of recipes for the manufacture of pharmaceuticals. Methods for extracting various juices and oils from plants by evaporation, infusion, squeezing, fermentation, and straining are described. The methods of sublimation, distillation, extraction, and filtration were widely used in various technological operations. Ancient specialists in the chemical art: smelters, glassblowers, dyers, soap makers were “technological chemists”. These were men of pure practice, to whom “theory” meant little or nothing. They orally passed on their rich experience to each new generation. No one at that time generalized or described this experience, and if individual recipes were preserved in the papyri, then this was far from what the hands of a master could do. And they could do a lot. It is enough to recall the beautiful glaze (poured facing tiles, for the coloring of which oxides such as CuO, CoO, FeO, PbO were used). Ancient Egypt developed a method for obtaining pure gold. Processing of the rock began with crushing quartz containing gold, then pieces of quartz were fused in hermetically sealed crucibles with table salt, lead, tin, and the silver turned into silver chloride. In addition to gold, silver, iron, tin, mercury, copper, and lead were known in ancient times. According to the teachings of the ancients, the seven metals represented the seven planets. .

How chemistry affects the environment or chemical pollution of the environment by industry. (Chemical portal School chemistry)

About the dangers of chemistry.

After the advent of nuclear fuel, chemistry began to be treated worse and worse. The first power plants operating on nuclear fuel appeared in the 1950s. If such fuel leaks, it contaminates everything around, even the air. Many people, concerned about this, staged demonstrations to protest the use of nuclear energy. Until the 1950s, most power plants ran on oil and coal. Such fuel is not as dangerous as nuclear fuel, but its reserves must sooner or later be depleted. In addition, the smoke released dissolves in rain moisture. When such rain falls on the ground, it damages pastures and forests. This rain is called acid rain. In 1986, a massive leak of nuclear fuel occurred at a nuclear power plant in the Ukrainian city of Chernobyl. The entire area for many kilometers was contaminated. It is still unsafe for people to live in the Chernobyl area, eat food produced there, or drink water from local reservoirs.

Source

Technochemistry and metallurgy reached a high level in Ancient India.

Improvements in the process of obtaining bronze caused the birth of the technology of heat treatment of alloys

Source

Household chemicals – harm or benefit? Pros and cons of household chemicals - what more?

Long gone are the days when housewives put things in order in their apartment using improvised means. Today, you probably won’t be able to find those of them who would clean the house with ash or soda.

Made our life easier at the moment household chemicals, thanks to which Cleaning the house has been significantly simplified and accelerated.

Now there is a fairly significant selection of household chemicals. Among them are washing powders, bathroom cleaning products, window cleaning products and much more. All these achievements in the field of science have undoubtedly simplified everyday life for all of us.

When visiting stores, we can now notice several departments with various cleaning and detergent products at the same time. The choice on supermarket shelves is really quite wide, which allows you to go wide.

However, it is also worth understanding that in the pursuit of ideal and effective chemicals, we forget about an important factor, namely the environmental safety of the substance used.

Every clean housewife has household chemicals in her home. But it is worth considering all the pros and cons at the stage of choosing it. It is important to do this because only in this way will you cause minimal harm to both your own health and the well-being of your loved ones.

Sometimes even a small dose of surface cleaning chemicals can be quite effective - this is important to remember. But will you think at this moment about all the harm that it promises? Hardly.

No matter how strange it may be, you can still find large many chemicals that have long been banned in other countries due to harm to health.

Most of these products contain so-called surfactants(abbreviated as surfactants), such as ammonia, chlorine, acetone and many other chemical compounds harmful to the human body.

If they come into contact with the skin or lungs, these structures can cause an allergic reaction and even severe poisoning.

But this is still mere trifle compared to other consequences. Asthma, dermatitis, V all possible tumors, various oncological diseases– all these terrible diseases can be caused by seemingly the most ordinary washing powder or dishwashing detergent.

Another disadvantage is your very desire for constant cleanliness. Sometimes it becomes painful and is achieved by overcoming rather painful limits. By destroying all germs and bacteria in the house, we will undoubtedly protect our body from their direct effects.

But despite all these sterile living conditions, our body refuses to fight problems on its own. In this case, you risk getting sick immediately, since natural protection will no longer work.

Household chemicals have much fewer advantages than they should have in theory. Certainly, household chemicals make cleaning the house easier and is your indispensable assistant in ensuring cleanliness.

People especially like it when the manufacturer indicates on the labels exactly how much product is needed to clean a particular contaminated area. True, apart from this, household chemicals essentially have no positive aspects - the list is running out.

At this stage, there comes a realization that household chemicals cause much more harm than good. Be more careful about what product you purchase. It is important that these products are not composed of phosphates and other substances hazardous to the body..

We should also not forget that a few years ago it was possible to keep the house clean without all these household chemicals. It may cost you a little more time, but your body will undoubtedly thank you for the respect you show it in this way.

Remember how in your mother’s house, even in early childhood, ordinary mustard perfectly degreased dishes when washing. And here Baking soda can actually polish off almost any stain..

To keep your bathroom taps sparkling and sparkling clean, simply wipe them with alcohol. At the same time, even the most ordinary, at first glance banal, lemon juice will help get rid of plaque on the toilet.

You can also use a solution of baking soda and vinegar, which effectively removes scale and other contaminants on the internal surfaces of dishes.

In short, think twice before using household chemicals to clean your home. This is especially true for potent products containing phosphates and other chemically active components!

Source

From the history of the emergence of chemistry.

Chemistry is the science that studies substances and their transformations. Transformations of substances occur as a result of chemical reactions.

People received the first information about chemical transformations while engaging in various crafts, when they dyed fabrics, smelted metal, and made glass. Then certain techniques and recipes appeared, but chemistry was not yet a science.

Medieval alchemy was not the predecessor of chemistry. The goal of the alchemists was to search for the so-called philosopher's stone, with the help of which any metal could be turned into gold. Of course, their efforts remained fruitless. But since they carried out various experiments, they managed to make several important practical inventions. Furnaces, retors, flasks, and devices for distilling liquids began to be used. Alchemists prepared the most important acids, salts and oxides, and described methods for the decomposition of ores and minerals.

The emergence of the science of chemistry is usually associated with the name of the English physicist and chemist 17 Robert Boyle. He first identified the central object of chemistry research: he tried to define a chemical element. Boyle believed that an element is the limit of decomposition of a substance into its component parts. Decomposing natural substances into their components , the researchers made many important observations, discovered new elements and compounds. The chemist began to study what consists of what.

At the beginning of the 19th century. Englishman J. Dalton introduced the concept of atomic weight. Each chemical element received its most important characteristics. Atomic-molecular teaching became the basis of theoretical chemistry. Thanks to this teaching, D.I. Mendeleev discovered the periodic law, named after him, and compiled the periodic table of elements.

In the 19th century Two main branches of chemistry were clearly defined: organic and inorganic. At the end of the century, physical chemistry became an independent branch. The results of chemical research began to be increasingly used in practice, and this entailed the development of chemical technology.

Technochemistry and metallurgy reached a high level in Ancient India.

Numerous recipes for the production of ointments, medicines, paints, set out in papyri, show the high level of development of craft chemistry, cosmetics and pharmacy already in the middle of the second millennium BC. According to A. Lucas, “cosmetics are as old as human vanity.” Recipes for making food products, processing and dyeing leather and furs became widespread in ancient times. In the fifth millennium BC. e. The practical technology of tanning, dyeing, perfumery, and the production of detergents were well developed.

One of the surviving manuscripts of Ancient Egypt, the so-called “Papyrus of Eberes” (16th century BC), contains a number of recipes for the manufacture of pharmaceuticals. Methods for extracting various juices and oils from plants by evaporation, infusion, squeezing, and fermentation are described. , straining. Techniques of sublimation, distillation, extraction, and filtration were widely used in various technological operations.

The ancient specialists of chemical art: smelters, glassblowers, dyers, soap makers were “technological chemists.” These were people of pure practice, for whom “theory” meant little or nothing at all. They orally passed on their rich experience to each new generation. Nobody at that time this experience was not generalized or described, and if individual recipes were preserved in the papyri, then this was far from what the hands of a master could do. And they could do a lot. It is enough to recall the beautiful glaze (poured facing tiles, for painting which used such oxides as CuO, CoO, FeO, PbO).

In Ancient Egypt, a method was developed for obtaining pure gold. Processing of the rock began with crushing quartz containing gold, then pieces of quartz were fused in hermetically sealed crucibles with table salt, lead, tin, and the silver was converted into silver chloride. In addition to gold, in ancient times there were silver, iron, tin, mercury, copper, lead are known. According to the teachings of the ancients, the seven metals personified the seven planets.

Improvements in the process of obtaining bronze caused the birth of the technology of heat treatment of alloys

After the advent of nuclear fuel, chemistry began to be treated worse and worse. The first power plants operating on nuclear fuel appeared in the 1950s. If such fuel leaks, it contaminates everything around, even the air. Many people, concerned about this, staged demonstrations to protest against the use of nuclear energy. Until the 1950s, most power plants ran on oil and coal. Such fuel is not as dangerous as nuclear fuel, but its reserves must sooner or later be depleted. In addition, the smoke released dissolves in rain moisture. When such rain falls on the ground, it causes damage to pastures and forests. This rain is called acid rain. In 1986, a large leak of nuclear fuel occurred at a nuclear power plant in the Ukrainian city of Chernobyl. The entire area for many kilometers was contaminated. It is still unsafe for people to live in the Chernobyl area or consume products produced there food, drink water from local reservoirs.

Source

From the history of the emergence of chemistry.

Chemistry is the science that studies substances and their transformations. Transformations of substances occur as a result of chemical reactions.

About the benefits of chemistry.

Technochemistry and metallurgy reached a high level in Ancient India.

Improvements in the process of obtaining bronze caused the birth of the technology of heat treatment of alloys

About the dangers of chemistry.

After the advent of nuclear fuel, chemistry began to be treated worse and worse. The first power plants operating on nuclear fuel appeared in the 1950s. If such fuel leaks, it contaminates everything around, even the air. Many people, concerned about this, staged demonstrations to protest against the use of nuclear energy. Until the 1950s, most power plants ran on oil and coal. Such fuel is not as dangerous as nuclear fuel, but its reserves must sooner or later be depleted. In addition, the smoke released dissolves in rain moisture. When such rain falls on the ground, it causes damage to pastures and forests. This rain is called acid rain. In 1986, a large leak of nuclear fuel occurred at a nuclear power plant in the Ukrainian city of Chernobyl. The entire area for many kilometers was contaminated. It is still unsafe for people to live in the Chernobyl area or consume products produced there food, drink water from local reservoirs.

Before discussing this topic, it is impossible not to recall the words of one of the characters in Kurt Vonnegut’s novel “Cat’s Cradle”: “No matter what scientists work on, they still end up with weapons.”

The importance of chemistry in human life is very difficult to overestimate, because these processes surround us everywhere: from basic cooking to biological processes in the body. Advances in this area of knowledge brought enormous damage to humanity (the creation of weapons of mass destruction) and provided salvation from death (the development of medicines for diseases, the cultivation of artificial organs, etc.). It is impossible to be indifferent to this science: so many contradictory discoveries have not occurred in any other field of knowledge.

The role of chemistry in human life: everyday life

This area is impossible without chemical processes: for example, few people think when they light a match that they are carrying out a complex chemical process. Or, for example, personal hygiene is also accompanied by chemical reactions when a person uses soap, which foams when interacting with water. The same washing with the use of powders and fabric softening agents is accompanied by such reactions.

When a person drinks tea with lemon, he notices that the color of the drink weakens if this fruit is added to boiling water, and it is unlikely that many perceived tea in this case as an acid indicator, similar to litmus. We can observe the same reaction if we sprinkle blue cabbage with a vinegar solution: it will turn pink.

When people make repairs and mix cement, burn bricks, slake lime with water, then the most complex chemical processes occur that we don’t think about in everyday life, but not a single person could do without them.

Chemistry in human life: medicine

In medicine there are many examples of the most complex chemical reactions used intentionally. By mixing substances, medicines are obtained, and when they react with the cells of the body, recovery occurs.

Nevertheless, chemistry can play both a constructive role in medicine and a destructive one, because not only medicines are created, but also poisons - toxic substances that are harmful to human health.

There are these types of toxic substances:

harmful;
annoying;
aggressive;
carcinogenic.

Chemistry in human life: the biological side of life

Chemistry is part of our lives, and without certain processes that occurred on Earth before life began, naturally, we would not exist. The absorption of food and the breathing of humans and animals are based precisely on chemical reactions. The same process of photosynthesis, without which people cannot live, is also accompanied by chemical processes.

Some scientists believe that the origin of life on our planet occurred in an environment consisting of carbon dioxide, ammonia, water and methane, and the first organisms obtained energy for life by decomposing molecules without oxidation. These are the simplest chemical reactions that accompany the origin of life on Earth.

Chemistry in human life: production

Knowledge about this type of process is widely used in industry, and new technologies are developed on its basis.

Even in ancient times, crafts based on chemical processes were common: for example, the creation of ceramics, metal processing, and the use of natural dyes.

Today, the petrochemical and chemical industries are one of the most significant sectors of the economy, and this suggests that chemical processes and knowledge about them play an important role in society. It depends only on humanity how to use them - for creative or destructive purposes, because among the variety of chemicals one can also find those that are dangerous to humans (explosive, oxidizing, flammable, etc.).

Thus, chemistry in human life is a panacea for diseases, weapons, economics, cooking, and, of course, life itself.

Chemistry plays a very important role in the life of modern man. It increases a person's well-being, which can manifest itself in various forms: food, clothing, housing, medications and even recreational activities. Various chemical fertilizers are produced by thousands of enterprises in different industries every day. Mass production of goods saves humanity from hunger. Crops are protected using pesticides. Food factories work day and night, producing a wide variety of food. Thanks to the production of various artificial fibers, a revolution in clothing production took place. We owe chemistry all our colorful and beautiful clothes for different seasons of the year. The cement, iron, bricks, glass that are used in the construction of our houses are also the result of our chemical knowledge.

With the help of beautiful multi-colored paint, which can be bought at any store, we can decorate our homes. Polyester fiber, fiberglass, colored glass, tableware, steel and alloys of various materials are all wonderful products of chemistry. But in our modern world, chemistry can bring not only benefits, but also harm. The smoke emitted from chemical factories, as well as polluting gases from a large number of cars, harm the environment. In addition, water waste coming from the chemical industry is often saturated with hazardous chemicals and can cause irreparable harm to the earth, rivers and waterways.