Pengguna:Agung.karjono/Sandbox/Kimia Dasar/Pendahuluan
Kimia di Mana-mana
[sunting]Pengalaman manusia modern menempatkan penekanan besar pada dunia materi. Dari hari lahir hingga meninggal, kita sering disibukkan dengan dunia di sekitar kita. Apakah berjuang untuk memberi makan diri kita sendiri, menempatkan diri dengan penemuan-penemuan modern, berinteraksi dengan orang lain atau hewan, atau hanya merenungkan udara yang kita hirup, perhatian kita terfokus pada aspek yang berbeda dari dunia materi. Bahkan hanya segelintir disiplin tertentu yaitu agama, filsafat, dan matematika abstrak yang dapat dianggap sama sekali tidak berhubungan dengan dunia materi. Segala sesuatu yang lain entah bagaimana terkait dengan kimia, disiplin ilmu yang mempelajari sifat-sifat, komposisi, dan transformasi materi.
Cabang Ilmu Kimia
[sunting]Kimia itu sendiri memiliki sejumlah cabang ilmu:
- Kimia Analitik menentukan komposisi zat.
- Biokimia mempelajari kimia yang ditemukan dalam makhluk hidup (seperti DNA dan protein).
- Kimia Anorganik mempelajari bahan kimia yang tidak mengandung karbon.
- Kimia organik mempelajari zat berbasis karbon. Karbon, seperti yang dijelaskan secara lebih rinci dalam buku ini, memiliki sifat unik yang memungkinkan untuk membuat bahan kimia yang kompleks, termasuk organisme hidup. Seluruh bidang kimia dikhususkan untuk zat dengan unsur ini.
- Kimia fisik adalah studi tentang sifat fisik sifat bahan kimia, yang adalah karakteristik yang dapat diukur tanpa mengubah komposisi zat.
Chemistry as a discipline is based on a number of other fields. Because it is a measurement-based science, math plays an important role in its study and usage. A proficiency in high-school level algebra should be all that is needed in this text, and can be obtained from a number of sources. Chemistry itself is determined by the rules and principles of physics. Basic principles from physics may be introduced in this text when necessary.
Why Study Chemistry?
[sunting]There are many reasons to study chemistry. It is one pillar of the natural sciences necessary for detailed studies in the physical sciences or engineering. The principles of biology and psychology are rooted in the biochemistry of the animal world, in ways that are only now beginning to be understood. Modern medicine is firmly rooted in the chemical nature of the human body. Even students without long term aspirations in science find beauty in the infinite possibilities that originate from the small set of rules found in chemistry.
Chemistry has the power to explain everything in this world, from the ordinary to the bizarre. Why does iron rust? What makes propane such an efficient, clean burning fuel? How can soot and diamond be so different in appearance, yet so similar chemically? Chemistry has the answer to these questions, and so many more. Understanding chemistry is the key to understanding the world as we know it.
This Book: General Chemistry
[sunting]An introduction to the chemical world is set forth in this text. The units of study are organized as follows.
- Properties of Matter: An explanation of the most fundamental concept in chemistry: matter.
- Atomic Structure: While technically in the domain of physics, atoms determine the behavior of matter, making them a necessary starting point for any discussion of chemistry.
- Compounds and Bonding: Chemical bonding is introduced, which explains how less than one hundred naturally-occurring elements can combine to form all the different compounds that fill our world.
- Chemical Reactions: Things get interesting once chemical reactions start making and breaking bonds.
- Aqueous Solutions: Substances dissolved in water have special properties. This is when acids and bases are introduced.
- Phases of Matter: A detailed look at the organization of substances, with particular focus on gases.
- Chemical Equilibria: Chemical reactions don't go on forever. Equilibrium is the balance that reactions seek to achieve.
- Chemical Kinetics: Kinetics explain why it takes years for an iron nail to rust, but only a split second for a hydrogen-filled hot air balloon to explode.
- Thermodynamics: Two things decide which reactions can occur and which reactions cannot: heat and chaos. Or enthalpy and entropy, as they are called in thermodynamics
- Chemistries of Various Elements: An exploration of the elements that make up all substance. Includes an introduction to nuclear chemistry and carbon, the essence of organic chemistry.