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Single Idea 17404

[filed under theme 27. Natural Reality / F. Chemistry / 1. Chemistry ]

Full Idea

Unlike in physics, chemical reasoning does not generally proceed unambiguously from general principles. It is a more inductive science in which large amounts of observational data must be carefully weighed.

Gist of Idea

Chemistry does not work from general principles, but by careful induction from large amounts of data

Source

Eric R. Scerri (The Periodic Table [2007], 05 'Mendel')

Book Ref

Scerri,Eric R.: 'The Periodic Table' [OUP 2007], p.142

A Reaction

This is why essentialist thinking was important for Mendeleev, because it kept his focus on the core facts beneath the messy and incomplete data.

Related Idea

Idea 17400 Mendeleev focused on abstract elements, not simple substances, so he got to their essence [Mendeleev, by Scerri]

The 20 ideas with the same theme [general ideas about behaviour of molecules]:

23185 In chemistry every substance pushes, and thus creates new substances [Nietzsche]
15259 Chemical atoms have two powers: to enter certain combinations, and to emit a particular spectrum [Harré/Madden]
15263 Chemistry is not purely structural; CO2 is not the same as SO2 [Harré/Madden]
14098 An acid is just a proton donor [Rosen]
20651 The shape of molecules is important, as well as the atoms and their bonds [Watson]
17482 Compounds can differ with the same collection of atoms, so structure matters too [Hendry]
17483 Water continuously changes, with new groupings of molecules [Hendry]
17392 How can poisonous elements survive in the nutritious compound they compose? [Scerri]
17391 Periodicity and bonding are the two big ideas in chemistry [Scerri]
17404 Chemistry does not work from general principles, but by careful induction from large amounts of data [Scerri]
17407 The electron is the main source of chemical properties [Scerri]
17409 Does radioactivity show that only physics can explain chemistry? [Scerri]
17415 A big chemistry idea is that covalent bonds are shared electrons, not transfer of electrons [Scerri]
17468 Over 100,000,000 compounds have been discovered or synthesised [Weisberg/Needham/Hendry]
17469 'H2O' just gives the element proportions, not the microstructure [Weisberg/Needham/Hendry]
17470 Water molecules dissociate, and form large polymers, explaining its properties [Weisberg/Needham/Hendry]
17473 It is unlikely that chemistry will ever be reduced to physics [Weisberg/Needham/Hendry]
17474 Quantum theory won't tell us which structure a set of atoms will form [Weisberg/Needham/Hendry]
17475 For temperature to be mean kinetic energy, a state of equilibrium is also required [Weisberg/Needham/Hendry]
17604 We are halfway to synthesising any molecule we want [New Sci.]