Medical Relations

Chemistry has been called the science of what things are. Its intent is the exploration of

the nature of the materials that fabricate our physical environment, why they hold the

different properties that depict them, how their atomic structure may be fathomed, and

how they may be manipulated and changed.

Although organic reactions have been conducted by man since the discovery of fire, the

science of Organic chemistry did not develop until the turn of the eighteenth century,

mainly in France at first, then in Germany, later on in England. By far the largest

variety of materials that bombard us are made up of organic elements. The beginning of

the Ninetieth century was also the dawn of chemistry, all organic substances were

understood as all being materials produced by living organisms: wood, bone, cloth, food,

medicines, and the complex substances that configure the human body. Inorganic material

was believed to come from the Earth: salt, metals, and rock, just to name a few.

Because of the human's wonder of natural life, organic materials were believed to possess

an enigmatic "Vital Force." Thus organic chemistry was separated from inorganic

chemistry, and it became it's own field of science. By the turn of the Nineteenth the

"Vital Force" theory was immensely discredited, but this branch of science still stayed

separated from inorganic chemistry. Back when Organic chemistry was the chemistry of

living matter, Professor Wohler succeeded in synthesizing in the laboratory an organic

compound previously observed in living tissue as Urea. Professor Wohler made this organic

compound from non-living chemical substance, Ammonium Cyanate. He evaporated a solution

of Ammonium Cyanate to produce Urea. Thus rendering the "Vital Force" theory to be with

flaws. Other famous experiments proved the vitalism theory was wrong. In 1845 Kolbe

synthesized acetic acid, the chief component in vinegar, in a flow of reactions starting

with Carbon, the experiment is demonstrated better defined since acetic acid (C6H4O2) is

a carbon-carbon bond. The theory of vitalism, like many other scientific theories,

disappeared slowly under the weight of accumulated evidence rather than as a consequence

of any one brilliant and enlightening experiment.

Structural theory, which developed in the 1860's, started the second major period of

growth in the organic chemistry field. The development of a detailed picture, by using

pure reasoning of both atomic organization and the shapes of molecules stands as a great

milestone of the development of human intellect. At almost the same point in time, Kekule

in Germany, and Couper of Scotland suggested that atoms in molecules are fused together

by bonds. Their theory was that every atom is distinguished by having the same number of

bond availability or valence number, where ever that particular atom appears in any

compound. The main notability of organic compounds is having strong carbon to carbon

bonds. This was recognized in the theory, and was used to help understand large

molecules, possessing many bonded carbon atoms. Carbon is the cement that holds their

molecules together. So far, this theory has gone through rigorous testing, and has not

been proven inadequate to this day, as of now it is a law.

Kekule and Couper's theory was not all without fault; it is surprising

that they did not

recognize atoms as three-dimensional objects if they were to be understood as true

particles of matter in space. It was not until 1875 when van't Hoff and LeBel proposed

their hypothesis of compounds and atoms taking up space. Their hypothesis went as

follows: Four bonds of carbon were located at equal angles to each other in space, this

would be a rectangular tetrahedron. Immense amounts of proof have been supplied to

support this theory, but is not universally accepted. It is believed today that this

hypothesis is pure nonsense, proving that van't Hoff and LeBel were misdirected. It goes

to show science is not always a constant law, theories, and even laws can be proved

wrong. This Hypothesis was no exception; science can adapt to the world around it. After

all, the "mission statement" of science is the attempt to understand the world around

you,