Summary of muslim period in the history of Chemistry

                            History of Chemistry

                              Muslim Period

  The Muslim period was from 600 to 1600A.D in the history of chemistry and is known as the period of Alchemist.The Muslim scientists contributed a lot to the field of chemistry.In this period many elements were discovered such as bismuth,arsenic etc,many chemical compounds  were made and experimental science flourish in this period. They were interested to finding a way to prolong human life change cheap metal to precious metals such as gold.Some of the contributors of Muslim era are as follows:

Jabir Ibne-Haiyan: (721-803 A.D)

    He is known as the father of alchemy.He invented experimental methods for the preparation of nitric acid,hydrochloric acid and white lead.He also developed methods for the extraction of metals from their ores and dyeing clothes.

Al-razi(862-930A.D):

  He was a physician,a chemist and a philospher.He was an expert surgeon and was first to use opium as an anesthetic.He divided the substances into living and non living origins,which was later adopted by Brazellius,in 1806 to classify compounds on the basis of origins of organic and inorganic compounds.he prepared ethyl alcohol by fermentation process.

 Al-Beruni(973-1048A.D):

  He contributed a lot in Physics,metaphysics,mathematics,geography and history.In the field of chemistry he determined the densities of different substances.In the field of chemistry,he determined the densities of different substances.

Ibne-Sina(980-1037A.D):

He was famous for his contributions in the field of medicines,medicinal chemistry,philosophy,methematics and
astronomy.He was probable the first scientist who rejected the idea that metals could be changed into gold .His books were taught for centuris in the educational institutions in Europe.
         

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Intoduction of Chemistry

                                            Introduction

Definition:

1. (Chemistry) the branch of physical science concerned with the composition, properties, and reactions of substances See also inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry

2. (Chemistry) the composition, properties, and reactions of a particular substance

3. the nature and effects of any complex phenomena.

History of Chemistry:

    By 1000 BC, ancient civilizations used technologies that would eventually form the basis of the various branches of chemistry. Examples include extracting metals from ores, making pottery and glazes, fermenting beer and wine, making pigments for cosmetics and painting, extracting chemicals from plants for medicine and perfume, making cheese, dying cloth, tanning leather, rendering fat into soap, making glass, and making alloys like bronze.

Early attempts to explain the nature of matter and its transformations failed. The protoscience of chemistry, Alchemy, was also unsuccessful in explaining the nature of matter. However, by performing experiments and recording the results the alchemist set the stage for modern chemistry. This distinction begins to emerge when a clear differentiation was made between chemistry and alchemy by Robert Boyle in his work The Sceptical Chymist (1661). Chemistry then becomes a full-fledged science when Antoine Lavoisierdevelops his law of conservation of mass, which demands careful measurements and quantitative observations of chemical phenomena. So, while both alchemy and chemistry are concerned with the nature of matter and its transformations, it is only the chemists who apply the scientific method. The history of chemistry is intertwined with the history of thermodynamics, especially through the work of Willard Gibbs. 

Origin of word Chemistry:

In the history of science, the etymology of the word chemistry is a debatable issue. It is agreed that the word derives from the wordalchemy, which is a European one, derived from the Arabic al-kīmīā (الكيمياء). The Arabic term is derived from the Greek χημία or χημεία.^[1][2] However, the ultimate origin of the root word, chem, is uncertain.^[3]

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the majority theory is that al-kīmīā is derived from χημία, which is derived from the ancientEgyptian name of Egypt (khem, khame, or khmi, meaning "black earth", contrasting with the surrounding desert.) Therefore, alchemy is the "Egyptian art".^[1] However, it is also possible that al-kīmīā was derived from χημεία, meaning "cast together".^[4]

Traditionally, the science of alchemy was once considered to have sprung from great Egyptian figure named by the Greeks "Hermes Trismegistus" (the "thrice-great" Hermes, celebrated as priest, king, and scholar), who is thought to have been the founder of the art.^[5]Reputed to have lived about 1900 B.C., he was highly celebrated for his wisdom and skill in the operations of nature. In 1614 Isaac Casaubon demonstrated that the works attributed to Hermes – the so-called "Hermetic corpus" – were actually written pseudonymously during the first three centuries of the Common Era

Total branches of Chemistry:

The main 6 branches of Chemistry are:

1. Organic chemistry - the study of most carbon-containing compounds. 

2. Inorganic chemistry - the study of all substances not classified as organic, mainly those compounds that do not contain carbon. 

3. Physical chemistry - the study of the properties and changes of matter and their relation to energy. 

4. Analytical chemistry - the identification of the components and composition of materials. 

5. Biochemistry - the study of substances and processes occurring in living things. 

6. Theoretical chemistry - the use of mathematics and computers to understand the principles behind observed chemical behavior and to design and predict the properties of new compounds. 

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