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shpongle
What is the difference between physical chemistry and chemical physics?
COME TO THE DARK SIDE. WE HAVE BEER.Fra said:I usually don't hang out in chemistry section
It´s funny that you mention beer. Brewing my own beer was the random spark that started my dive into cell biology and biochemistry. I spotted a homebrewing kit in a store and thought "why not? I need to try this". That was like opening a can of worms, and i soon realized that except for the flavour chemistry of malt and hops, the interesting part of beer was all about the chemical processes occurring inside yeast cells. And in order to understand those, one need to understand the "context" of the chemistry, which means also modelling the whole regulatory system of a single cell organism including as well as the whole cellular culture. The interesting part is that in non-animate chemistry chemical reactions are simply regulated by various catalysts etc, but in biochemsitry these things are further regulated by the host cell and expression and transcription of genes, making it virtually impossiuble to apply the traditional reductionist approach as it becomes a chaotic dynamical system. so one needs a different modeling strategy, such as metabolic network, where one needs a model for the evolutionary goals of the host organism. Needless to say i was perceived by fellow brewers as and technical oddball that was more interested in making mathematical models for yeast and brewing processes than of the waste product (the beer). But after 3-4 years my questions that motivated this detour was answered, and i haven't brewed since. But the avatar picture in my profile are from iodine staining of glycogen in brewers yeast.TeethWhitener said:COME TO THE DARK SIDE. WE HAVE BEER.
Fra said:Another distinction is that of the core focus, applications or research direction.
I usually don't hang out in chemistry section, but memories come up as for me personally when i was younger in elementary school.
My real interest in science STARTED in chemistry in elementary school as i was intrigued to understand WHY chemical reactions took place, where equiblirium was and why and the concept of entropy, and what determined the RATE of reactions etc. I think the reason why this caught my attention is that chemistry can be very fun and spectacular experimentally. But as i kept studying physical chemistry, I soon answered my original questions and learned how to phrase new ones i noticed that the new questions was always drifting more and more to physics, as the laws of physics underpins chemistry. So it was only natural to abandon my original chemistry plans, suddently chemistry was just an "application". And I have always been motivated by my own questions to understand things. Paradoxally this journey continuted into and almost through physics as well, and my stance today is that even a lot of "physics" is an "application" in terms of the foundations of physical law an even deeper physical inference theory, this is where i stand today but i still see the red line tracing back all the way to physical chemistry. But somewhere in there i also made a detour into cell biology, for a few years and gained a lot of essential insights into the limits to reductionism. sometime that was missing in my orignal journey from chemistry to fundamental physics.
So for me all these things belong together but its more your own personal drive that determines where you end up. I tend to go wherever the good questions leads me and that journey is the fun part anyway. All natural sciences has enough in common to allow paths in any direction. Even biology fits well in here. In particlar the connection between complex systems (such as life) and the most fundamental parts of physical law are extremely interesting, and still hold unanswered questions to me personally.
/Fredrik
Chemical physics is a branch of physical science that combines the principles of chemistry and physics to study the behavior of matter at a molecular and atomic level. Physical chemistry, on the other hand, focuses on the application of physics principles to understand chemical systems and reactions. In simpler terms, chemical physics is more about studying the properties and behavior of individual molecules, while physical chemistry is more concerned with the macroscopic properties of chemical systems.
A good example to illustrate the difference would be the study of chemical reactions. Chemical physics would focus on the interaction between individual molecules and the energy changes that occur during a reaction. Physical chemistry, on the other hand, would study the overall rate of the reaction and the factors that affect it, such as temperature and concentration.
Yes, chemical physics and physical chemistry are closely interconnected. Both fields use similar principles and techniques, such as spectroscopy and computational methods, to study chemical systems. In fact, many scientists work in both fields and their research often overlaps.
Both chemical physics and physical chemistry have a strong theoretical component. However, chemical physics tends to be more theoretical as it focuses on the fundamental principles that govern chemical behavior at a molecular level. Physical chemistry, on the other hand, also has a strong experimental component where theories are tested and applied to practical systems.
Both fields are crucial in understanding the fundamental properties of matter and how it behaves. This knowledge is then applied in various fields such as material science, drug design, and environmental science. By studying chemical systems at a molecular level and understanding the underlying principles, scientists are able to make significant advancements in various industries and fields.