plural chemicals Britannica Dictionary definition of CHEMICAL [count] : a substance (such as an element or compound) that is made by a chemical process
chemical engineering, the development of processes and the design and operation of plants in which materials undergo changes in their physical or chemical state. Applied throughout the process industries, it is founded on the principles of chemistry, physics, and mathematics. The laws of physical chemistry and physics govern the practicability and efficiency of chemical engineering operations ...
Chemical synthesis, the construction of complex chemical compounds from simpler ones. It is the process by which many substances important to daily life are obtained. It is applied to all types of chemical compounds, but most syntheses are of organic molecules. Chemists synthesize chemical
Chemical Products Although nature provides us with a staggering amount of natural resources, humankind has also made use of a great variety of man-made compounds and substances. The chemical industry converts raw materials such as fossil fuels, water, salt, limestone, and sulfur into primary, secondary, and tertiary products.
Chemical bonding, any of the interactions that account for the association of atoms into molecules, ions, crystals, and other species. When atoms approach one another, their electrons interact and tend to distribute themselves in space so that the total energy is lower than it would be in any alternative arrangement.
Chemical industry, complex of processes, operations, and organizations engaged in the manufacture of chemicals and their derivatives. Raw materials include fossil fuels and inorganic chemicals. An average chemical product is passed from factory to factory several times before it emerges into the market.
An organic compound is any chemical compound in which one or more atoms of carbon are covalently linked to atoms of other elements, most commonly hydrogen, oxygen, or nitrogen. The few carbon-containing compounds not classified as organic include carbides, carbonates, and cyanides.
Chemical Banking Corporation, former American bank holding company that merged with The Chase Manhattan Corporation in 1996. The holding company’s principal subsidiary was Chemical Bank, which was chartered in 1824 in New York City as a division of the New York Chemical Manufacturing Company.
Manganese, chemical element that is a silvery white, hard, brittle metal of Group 7 in the periodic table. It was recognized as an element in 1774 by the Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele. Although rarely used in pure form, manganese is essential to steelmaking.
The Chemical Brothers, a British deejay-producer duo who pioneered the big beat dance music genre in the 1990s with such singles as ‘Chemical Beats,’ ‘Block Rockin’ Beats,’ ‘Loops of Fury,’ and ‘Setting Son.’ They remained popular into the 21st century. Learn more about their background, music, and career.
A chemical reaction is a process in which one or more substances, the reactants, are converted to one or more different substances, the products. Substances are either chemical elements or compounds. A chemical reaction rearranges the constituent atoms of the reactants to create different substances as products.
Water, substance composed of the chemical elements hydrogen and oxygen and existing in gaseous, liquid, and solid states. It is one of the most plentiful of compounds and has the important ability to dissolve many other substances, which was essential to the development of life.