particle, or is.it a wave?”
These questions cannot be answered by one o f the two stated
alternatives. Light is the name that wc have given to a part of nature. The
name refers to all of the properties that light has, to all of the phenomena
that are observed in a system containing light.
Some of the properties of light resemble those of waves, and can be
described in terms of a wave length. Other properties of light resemble
those of particles, and can be described in terms o f a light quantum, having
a certain amount of energy, Itv, and a ccrtain mass, /iv/с2. A beam o f light
is neither a sequence of waves nor a stream of particles; it is both.
In the same way, an clcctron is neither a particle nor a wave, in the
ordinary sense. In many ways, the behaviour of clcctrons is similar to that
expected of small spinning particles, with mass— w, clcctric chargc— e,
and ccrtain values o f angular momentum and magnetic moment. But
clcctrons differ from ordinary particles in that they also behave as though
they had wave character, with wavelength given by the dc Broglie equation.
The clcctron, like the proton, has to be described as having the character
both of a particle and of a wave.
After the first period of adjustment to Uicsc new ideas about the nature
o f light and of clcctrons, scientists became accustomcd to them, and found
that they could usually predict when, in a ccrtain experiment, the behaviour
o f a beam o f light would be determined mainly by its wavelength, and
when it would be determined by the energy and mass of the photon; that
is, they would know when it was convenient to consider light as consisting
o f waves, and when to consider it as consisting of particles, the photons.
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Similarly, they learned when to consider an clcctron as a particlc, and
when as a wave. In some experiments the wave charactcr and the particlc
character both contribute significantly, and it is then necessary to carry
out a careful theoretical treatment, using the equation of quantum
mechanics, in order to predict how the light or the clcctron will behave.
Text 20
The Nature of Resonance
The idea of resonance has brought clarity and unity into modem
structural chcmistry, has led to the solution of many problems o f valcncc
theory, and has assisted in the correlation o f the chcmical properties of
substanccs with the information obtained about the structure of their
molcculcs by physical methods.
The goal o f a structure investigation of a system is the description of
the system in terms of simpler entities. This description may be divided
into two parts, the first relating to the material particles or bodies of which
the system is considered to be composed, and the second to the ways in
which these particles or bodies arc interrelated, that is, to their interactions
and interconnections. In describing a system it is usually convenient to
resolve it first into the next simpler parts, rather than into its ultimate
constituents, and then to carry the resolution further and further in steps.
Wc arc thoroughly accustomed to this way of describing the material
constitution of substances. The use of the conccpt of resonance permits
the extension of the procedure to includc the discussion hot only of the
next simpler constituent bodies but also o f their interactions. Thus the
material description o f the benzene molcculc as containing carbon and
hydrogen atoms, which themselves contain electrons and nuclei, is
amplified by use of the resonance conccpt in the following way: The
structure of the normal benzene molcculc corresponds to resonance be tween
the two Kckulc structures, with smaller contributions by other valcncc
bond structures, and the molcculc is stabilized and its other properties are
changed somewhat by this resonance from those expected for either Kckulc
structure alone; cach Kckulc structure consists of a certain distribution of
single and double bonds, with essentially the properties associated with
these bonds in other molcculcs; cach bond represents a type of interaction
between atoms that can be dissolved in terms of the resonance between
structures differing in the interchange of electrons between atomic orbitals.
Text 21
Benjamin Franklin and Electricity
January 17,2006, will be the 300th anniversary of the birth of Franklin.
Kant once remarked that Benjamin Franklin was a new Prometheus
who had stolen fire from heaven. In his own day, Franklin was celebrated
248
throughout all Europe as the world’s foremost electrician and his book on
the subject was in demand in many countries. Far-reaching in its influence,
the book became an important Text in the electrical field and even today
wc still write of electricity in terms introduced in print by Franklin. Used
in the electrical sense, probably for the first time, in the inventor’s book
were words such as armature, battery brush, charged, charging, condense,
conductor, discharge,electrical fire, electrical shock, electrician, electrified,
electrify, Leyden bottle, minus, negative, non-conducting, non-conductor,
non-clcctric, plus, positive, and others.
Franklin saw his first electrical demonstration in Boston in 1746. He
purchased all the apparatus used by the British experimenter, Dr. Spence,
and proceeded in electrical experiments of his own with great interest.
The work that he did was soon far ahead of the European discoveries.
With great enthusiasm, he described new discoveries that were to him
unique, for he had no way of telling what work his predecessors had done.
Foremost among the observations was the discovery of the action of points
in drawing off and throwing off the electrical fire. One of Franklin’s
scicntific achievements was his experiment with the Leyden jar. He
explained the startling discovery that the electrified jar bccamc chargcd
positively on the outside, negatively on the inside, and showed by means
of experiment that the positive charge on the outer coating of the jar was
exactly equal and opposite to the negative inner charge.
Besides the importance and usefulness of Franklin’s discoveries, die
world knows him well for his hypothesis concerning the electrical nature
of lightning. Up to his discoveries the general impression was that lightning
was caused by the explosion of poisonous gases in the air. In 1749, Franklin
established that clcctrical fluid and lightning had similar properties of giving
light, colour of the light, crooked direction, swift motion, being conducted
by metals, crack or noise in exploding, subsisting in water or icc, rending
bodies it passes through, destroying animals, melting metals, firing
inflammable substanccs, sulphureous smell.
Text 22
Future Perspectives
The production of protein from chemicals is not the only proccss one
can employ for converting chemicals to food, but it is representative o f
one major type of proccss: fermentation. Microorganisms arc able to
efficiently producc nutrients, including proteins, fats, carbohydrates,
vitamins, etc., with high productivity. With microorganisms, it is possible
to intensively convert chemicals to food regardless of climatic variation
and environmental pressures. Thus, this route to food production is likely
to increase in both developed and developing countries. The needs o f the
future arc to develop more efficient methods of converting chemicals to
foods and to develop more applications of the final product. This latter
249
point is cspccially important when wc remember that “a food is not a food
until it is eaten”, and it is ncccssary that someone be willing to buy it
before it can be sold. In fact, developments in the area of application arc
likely to be rate-limiting steps in the utilization of these novel foods.
In addition to protein by fermentation, one can make specific products
like essential amino acids (c. g., lysine, tryptophan, and threonine) which
may be used to supplement plant protein sources as a way to increase their
nutritive value. Again, the limitation is frequently in methods of application
and/or economics.
There will continue to be a need to trap our widespread but difficult-
to-usc resources such as coal and oil shale, and to utilize effectively our
renewable resources such as cellulose, as initial starting products for food.
Microorganisms arc quite unique in that they can take a wide variety of
raw materials and sufficiently convert them to foods. In a sense, they
represent miniature farms and factories all in one. The future use of these
organisms to overcome food shortages lies in the hands of the creative
scientist and engineer.
Text 23
Gas Chromatography Methods
Gas chromatography (GC), or, more recently, gas-liquid chro
matography, is based on the volatilization of thermally stable analytes which
have a vapour pressure of approximately
0.1
mm or greater at temperatures
less than 400°C. It is one of die outstanding and more recent methods
which have revolutionized the chcmical analysis of major and minor
components (analytes) for both organic and inorganic analyses. Trace
organic analysis comprises the area of greatest application for gas
chromatography, but there arc several GC techniques available for inorganic
pollutants. Some of the inorganic constituents may be relatively involatilc
and may also be of fairly high molccular weight. Spccial sampling and
processing techniques may be used in such cases, and these includc
pyrolysis, dcrivatization, and the indirect analysis of reaction products. A
promising area for tracc analysis of inorganic constituents involves the
conversion of the tracc element to a chelate compound or organomctallic
and subsequent GC determination using clcctron capture detection. A flame
photometric detector can also be used in GC for metal-containing
compounds. The time required for chcmical analysis using GC is normally
from a few minutes to half an hour. However, for some complex samples,
the time involved in sample separation, quantitative data reduction, and
sample identification can extend for several hours. The accuracy of GC
analysis is governed by the sampling and injection procedures, attainable
resolution, the detectors and dctcctor calibrations, peak area measurements,
and the availability of suitable standards for GC. The precision attainable
depends greatly on the particular analytical chemist’s experience and also
varies for different concentration levels.
250
In rcccnt years, the versatility of GC has been greatly extended by the
so-called ancillary techniques. This refers to the coupling of different
instrumental or chcmical methods with GC in one unified system. Examples
arc the coupling of GC with infrared and Raman spectroscopy, mass
spectrometry, NMR spectroscopy, thin-layer chromatography, microrcactor
systems, and pyrolyzcrs.
Text 24
Liquid Chromatography Detectors
During the last years, there has been a marked increase of interest in
column liquid chromatography (LC). One reason that this technique, whose
discovery preceded gas chromatography (GC) by many years, has not been
used extensively until relatively rcccntly, has been due to the inherent
shortcoming of suitable detection devices to times involved. Promising
improvements in detector design during the last years, however, have made
it possible to use a number of different modes of detection with highspeed,
highcfTicicncy liquid chromatographic columns.
High resolution column LC is a technique which is experimentally
analogous to GC, in that one makes use o f small sample sizes (microlitrc
quantities), long, narrow bore columns, fast moving liquids, and continuous
and highly sensitive detection devices. The term “liquid chromatography”
includes several distinct types of interaction, i. с., ( I) liquid-liquid, in which
the components arc separated by partitioning between a mobile and
stationary liquid; (
2
) liquid-solid, in which the components arc selectively
adsorbed on an activc surfacc; (3) ion exchange, in which ionic
components of the sample are separated by selective exchange with
replaceable ions of the support; (4) permeation, in which separations occur
on a permeable gel by a sieving action based on molccular size.
The advantage of liquid chromatography is that thermally unstable,
nonvolatile compounds which cannot be eluted by GC, can often be
separated by LC, sincc columns arc operated at or near room temperature.
Applications therefore seem feasible for such high molccular weight
compounds as proteins and polymers. Too, the interchange of solvents
can provide special selectivity effects in LC, sincc the relative retention of
two solutes is strongly influenced by the nature of the eluent used. Although
LC is not likely to replace GC as an analytical technique, the two methods
should complement one another.
The current interest in column LC is evidenced by numerous articles
which arc now appearing in the literature. Column liquid chromatography
has been successfully employed by several workers in the analysis of
steroids, hcrbicidcs, insccticidcs, metal organic compounds and biologically
activc materials. Rcccntly, reports have appeared, describing improvement
in performance and efficicncy of LC columns by the development of
controlled surfacc porosity supports and by the use of high speeds and
high pressures, enabling the tcchniquc to bccomc competitive with GC.
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