7 CONTRIBUTIONS OF CHEMISTRY TO HUMANITY - CHEMISTRY - 2025

The contributions of chemistry to humanity throughout history have positioned this area of ​​knowledge as fundamental for the understanding of life and the processes that take place around man, added to its ability to understand and use it..

The study of the structure, properties and transformation of bodies based on the knowledge of their composition make chemistry a science used for all aspects of human life.

Not knowing the importance of chemistry would once again give a fantastic character to all the processes and phenomena that surround us. The human being, through chemistry, has been discovering how to control and manipulate natural and unnatural processes for their benefit, with the main intention of guaranteeing the prolongation of the species.

All the elements around us have a chemical composition that makes their shape, texture and even function possible. Like other fields of study, chemistry has been closely related to the daily life of man in society.

Having knowledge of some of the chemical elements, reactions and phenomena that occur around us at all times does not represent but only a part of the capabilities and attributes of chemistry.

Most outstanding contributions of chemistry

Technological development

Today different processes and chemical reactions are involved that make possible the existence of technological devices applied to different aspects of life.

Chemistry is present in the physical structures of technological and electronic devices of daily use. Advances like nanotechnology have a narrow chemical origin.

The use of elements capable of generating energy; the reactions necessary to create certain physical components; The direct or indirect influence that contact with man can have are just some of the chemical foundations that today make up a large number of things that surround us and that are used frequently.

Chemistry and genetics

The application of chemical strategies was one of the tools capable of scientifically glimpsing the structure of human DNA and, therefore, providing greater knowledge about the genetic makeup of man.

These first techniques made it possible to sequence millions of nucleotides in a short time, generating the conditions for the meticulous observation of the ways in which nucleotides are sequentially linked.

Chemical elements and dating tools

The use of elements such as carbon 14, pioneered by Willard Libby (who received a Nobel Prize in 1960), unveiled a new path towards dating organic compounds and elements, providing a better notion of the antiquity of elements in nature and its vestiges.

With the essential of carbon as an element for the formation and sustenance of organic life on Earth, an isotope such as carbon 14, due to its composition, generated favorable reactions in other bodies that presented residual amounts of carbon.

Applications such as the one mentioned have expanded into fields of study and professionals such as geology, geography, the study of hydrocarbons and forms of industrial engineering.

Radioactivity

Marie Curie's discovery of the chemical elements radium and polonium (which earned her a Nobel Prize in 1911), allowed radioactivity to jump into the public arena of chemistry and its applications.

The existence of radioactivity had previously been attributed to Henry Becquerel; however, it was the Polish scientist who worked the most with the physical phenomenon.

Today radioactivity is used as a tool for the simplification of industrial processes and prevention of complications.

One of the professional fields that makes the most of the use of radioactivity is medicine, through instruments that allow a better view of what happens inside the body.

Radioactivity is also exploited in the area of ​​energy, through nuclear reaction; energy generation method considered one of the most efficient today and at the same time highly risky.

Chemistry and food

Since man was able to use certain chemical components to prevent decomposition in food, allowing it to be preserved for a longer time, it has been difficult to find in today's society foods that are not affected by chemical elements.

These have been applied in order not to harm man, in part, but to maximize the quality of the product.

It has not been until the last century that chemistry has crossed its borders and has begun to be a protagonist in the structural and genetic modification of food, through new variants of different items under the name of transgenics.

These measures have emerged as a way to deal with the natural difficulties imposed by the deterioration of the environment.

However, since their conception and application, they have been the target of controversy at the international level.

Oil and hydrocarbons

Since the discovery of oil and its global establishment as a new massive energy source, chemistry has been present in the gestation and production of all its derivatives, which extend to its most domestic presentation.

Studies and research on oil have opened up a whole field of specialization that allows constant innovation of its processes.

The search for new sustainable and effective chemical methods and strategies aims to remedy the damage caused.

Chemistry and domestic life

Considered a central science, the results of chemical processes have found their place in almost all spaces inhabited by man.

From the water consumed at home, which goes through a filtering and mild chlorination process; the processor of electronic devices, which contains elements such as cobalt; even food on the plate.

Chemistry has been a great influence on modern society in recent centuries. Today, its applications are controlled and conditioned according to specialized interests, be they medicinal, commercial, industrial or even warlike, and the needs of man throughout the planet Earth.

References

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5. Walter, P. (September 30, 2015). Chemistry's Contributions. Obtained from Chemistry World: chemistryworld.com.