Chemistry
For everyone
The field that studies the structure and properties of substances and how they change into one another. Its roots lie in alchemy, metallurgy and pharmacy. Modern chemistry took shape in the 17th and 18th centuries with quantitative measurement, the concept of the element and atomic theory.
For specialists
The chemical bond was explained by quantum mechanics in the 20th century (Heitler–London 1927, Pauling). Chemistry today divides into synthesis, catalysis, spectroscopy, computational chemistry and materials design. Historiography increasingly holds that the transition from alchemy to chemistry was gradual rather than sharp.
Claims
- In the 17th century alchemy and chemistry were not yet distinct, both practised as "chymistry".[1]
Connections
New research in this branch
Notable in peer-reviewed journals
- Low Energy Excitations in a [4]Triangulene Honeycomb Antiferromagnet — Aidan Delgado, Carolin Dusold, James Wu et al. · 2026-10-20 · ACS Nano
- Catalytic enantioselective construction of spiro stereocenters: recent advances and perspectives — Junsong Tian, Tao Wang, Bo‐Shuai Mu et al. · 2026-09-20 · Science China Chemistry
- Times are changing but order matters: transferable prediction of small-molecule liquid chromatography retention times — Fleming Kretschmer, Eva-Maria Harrieder, Michael A. Witting et al. · 2026-10-01 · Nature Methods
- Embracing triplet nitrenes for C-to-N replacement of complex bicyclic (hetero)aryl azides — Dong Il Park, Johanna M. Masterson, Yuri Gelato et al. · 2026-09-24 · Science
Preprints (may not be peer-reviewed yet)
- Ligand-Based Design of Lyn-Selective Type II Kinase Inhibitors by Rational Tail Modification of Imatinib — Avi L. Benitah, Hadi H. Choudhary, Khalid Hanafy et al. · 2026-10-30 · ChemRxiv
- A spectral law for blackbody radiation without temperature or Planck’s constant — Abdennour Abbas · 2026-10-30 · ChemRxiv
- Open Ontology of Polymer Chemistry: Accumulation and Self-Improving Memory Mechanisms for Polymer Research — Brett M. Savoie · 2026-10-30 · ChemRxiv
- Ni/TiO 2 Interfaces Enhance Benzaldehyde Selectivity in the Photocatalytic Dehydrogenation of Benzyl Alcohol — Atsu Kludze, Haoqing Su, Fang Yuan et al. · 2026-10-30 · ChemRxiv
Sources
- Article (1998). Alchemy vs. chemistry: the etymological origins of a historiographic mistake. Early Science and Medicine 3(1), 32–65DOI 10.1163/157338298X00022archive
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Cite this page
Athena contributors. (2026). Chemistry. Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Retrieved November 1, 2026, from https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/kimya/
@misc{athena_kimya,
title = {Chemistry},
author = {{Athena contributors}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/kimya/}},
note = {Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Accessed: 2026-11-01}
}Added: September 27, 2026 · Last changed: September 27, 2026 · Page history