My Science School

Chemists. One of the physical sciences is chemistry. Chemists study chemicals and other materials to find out what they are made of. They also learn how these things change when they join with other substances. Chemists take molecules apart and put them together in new ways. They try to find out how chemicals can be used to make things people need, such as fuels, medicines, plastics, and thousands of other materials. Some chemists study how light, heat, and other forms of energy change chemical substances.

A chemist will often work as part of a larger research team in order to create much needed compounds for use in a wide variety of practical applications. A chemist also works to improve the quality of established chemical products and utilizes advanced computer programs to establish new technologies in the field.

Almost every industry benefits from the theories and chemical compounds brought about by research in the chemical sciences.

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All things - even you - are made up of billions and billions of “bits” that are smaller than anything you can imagine. These “bits” are called atoms. Atoms are the tiniest parts that something can be broken into and still be the same stuff. For example, one atom of gold is the tiniest bit of gold possible.

Special machines can split certain kinds of atoms into even smaller parts. When atoms split, they give off energy. The part of the atom that splits is called the nucleus, so the energy is called nuclear energy.

The energy given off by atoms when they are split is in the form of heat. So a machine that splits atoms can be used the same way a fuel-burning engine is used. The machine makes heat. The heat can be used to run generators that make electricity and to run other machines, too.

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You have seen candles burning. An orange flame dances around the wick, while the wax melts underneath and drips down. The candle gets shorter as the wax melts.

The candle wax has a kind of stored-up energy. It is a fuel. A fuel is something that is burned to make light, heat, or a push that makes things move. The coal, oil, and gas used to heat homes and other buildings and to cook food are fuels. The petrol in a car and the wood in a fireplace are fuels, too.

The same thing happens to every kind of fuel when it burns. When it starts burning, the heat makes it break down and change to other things, such as ashes. As the fuel breaks down, it gives off energy. Some of the energy is light, and some is heat.

When petrol is burned in a car engine, the heat energy makes the engine push. The push from the engine makes the car run.

The energy stored in a fuel is called chemical energy.

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