Stratospheric Ozone Layer
Depletion
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The
Progress of Chemistry
This
understanding of chemical reactions, the periodic table, and the interactions
of gasses made many new inventions possible. With the advent of large
companies, the face of chemistry changed. These corporations created research
teams to develop and synthesize new chemicals and machines that would help
speed the process of development. It was these research and development groups
who were largely responsible for the next wave of progress and inventiveness.
Though
Gorrie was not able to see his invention make its way into households we all
know that it did. Thanks to other scientists and engineers, his idea was
improved upon and made functional and profitable. As the demand for
refrigeration grew, so did the number of chemists and engineers working on the
problems.
Chemical
Bonding
It
is important to understand something about chemical bonding before the
discussion can move forward. Bonds between atoms hold all molecules together. A
bond is an electrostatic attraction between one atom and another. Two of the
major types of bonding that occur are ionic and covalent bonding. In an ionic
bond, one atom transfers an electron to another. When this happens, the ionic
bonds are formed due to a difference in charges. The electrostatic attraction
of these different charges holds the two ions together. In covalent bonding,
the atoms involved do not wish to relinquish their electrons. Instead, the
atoms share a portion of the electromagnetic field of the orbiting electrons.
The more intense the desire for the shared electron, the stronger will be the
bond . It is this knowledge of the elements, their atomic structure, and their
bonding capability that helped move chemistry forward as a science. Once the
theoretical groundwork was laid, chemists were able to use this knowledge to
begin synthesizing compounds found in nature as well as create many that were
not.
