Physical chemistry is the foundation of all other fields of chemistry and relevant to almost all other scientific fields. It comprises four subject areas: thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, chemical kinetics, and statistical thermodynamics. These concepts seek to understand complex chemical problems in the context of biological, environmental, and materials sciences.
There are literally millions of chemical compounds. The way these compounds and their constituents react and interact with each other is governed by certain physical principles that explain their behavior. Physical chemistry is therefore the foundation on which all other fields of chemistry rest, and this science is also relevant to almost all other scientific fields. Physical chemistry comprises four subject areas, including thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, chemical kinetics, and statistical thermodynamics.
Thermodynamics is the study of the conversion of energy into heat and work. In this context, work is defined as the energy transferred by a force; for example, kicking a ball is a form of work in which the person kicking the ball transfers force from their foot to the ball, causing it to move. Thermodynamics also studies the ways in which the conversion process can be altered by changing variables such as pressure and temperature within a system.
Quantum chemistry is a theoretical science that describes how molecules bond with each other by applying the principles of quantum field theory and quantum mechanics. These principles describe how atoms and subatomic particles behave in various systems and, in turn, govern the behavior of molecules. Theoretically all chemical systems can be described using quantum chemistry, but in practice only very simple systems can be accurately studied.
Chemical kinetics studies the rates of chemical processes. The rate of a given chemical process is simply the rate at which a chemical reaction occurs. For example, compare the rate of oxidation of iron, which is a very slow process, to the rate of burning of fuel, which is a fraction-of-a-second process. Chemical kinetics also studies how variable variables such as pressure and temperature change the rate at which reactions occur.
These three aspects of physical chemistry are connected by a fourth, called statistical thermodynamics. This field is concerned with the distribution of energy in chemical systems and also connects the microscopic and macroscopic worlds. The main objective of statistical thermodynamics is to interpret the macroscopic properties of various types of matter in relation to the interactions between molecules and the microscopic particles that constitute them.
Through the study of these four concepts, modern physical chemistry seeks to understand complex chemical problems in the context of biological, environmental and materials sciences. While these are widely disparate fields, the principles of physical chemistry are relevant to all, including the biological, physical, and chemical sciences. Indeed, it is a highly multidisciplinary science, precisely because the chemical principles it studies are relevant to all biological and chemical systems.
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