Atoms Of Fire

The Organic Mystery · the origin of organic chemistry · the death of Vitalism · the complexity of organic compounds · the concept of valency · Kekule's structural diagrams · basic carbon chains

Carbon's place on the periodic table.· polar versus non polar bonds · Consolidation of valency. · The logic of the alkane family. · Alkane isomers · IUPAC name system. · A brief look at other hydrocarbon families - alkenes, alkynes. The case of benzene.

basic introduction to electrons and the octet rule · polar versus non polar bonds · non-polar hydrocarbons are not soluble in water, the attachment of polar groups renders them so · substitute groups create other organic families · family formulae of alcohols, ethers, amines, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids and esters

organic chemistry goes industrial with William Perkin · the discovery of chirality · concept of atoms as 3D objects · 3D structural diagrams and models · carbon's tetrahedral bonds · a brief look at various synthetic organic compounds developed from natural ones · achievements and problems

carbon's structure allows it to be the backbone for macro-molecules · the extreme (non organic) case of diamond · story of the glucose polymers cellulose and starch · why starch is digestible by humans but cellulose is not · the discovery of nitrocellulose and its importance · celluloid · bakelite · nylon · definition of thermo plastics, thermosets, and glass transition temperature

Refining processes: distillation, cracking, reforming. · The huge reliance on petrochemicals, not only for fuels, but also for a multitude of compounds from plastics to insecticides. · Problems of scale of use. "Silent Spring". Plastic pollution.

protein is intimately involved in life processes · discovery of amino acids · family formula of amino acids · polymerisation of amino acids · peptides · levels of protein structure · denaturing albumin · introduction to enzymes · the lock and key model of enzyme action · proteins as hormones