In our previous article on organic chemistry we highlighted the importance of carbon and its ability to bond with almost any element. This article will expand on that by comparing the kind of bonds carbon have with other elements. With four valence electrons, the possibility of having more than a single bond with another atom exists.

But how will this affect the properties of the molecule formed?

Carbon is the element of life. We've discussed this topic from the viewpoint of biology but how would a chemist look into the life-giving nature of carbon? Biology is basically applied chemistry after all, would a chemist rob biology of the beauty and mystery of life?

​Or would we better understand and realize that everything in this universe is co-dependent on each other?

When Albert Einstein posits that energy and matter are one and the same, and one can be converted into the other, most people could not wrap their heads around the idea. They can imagine burning a piece of wood (matter) to get heat and light (energy), but the workings of chemical reactions (in this case oxidization) is well-established. But the idea that the stuff of matter itself (neutrons, electrons, protons) is made of this ethereal, barely-understood thing called energy, flies in the face of conventional wisdom and reasoning.

​We've come a long way since then...

From our observation of the universe, life is a rare occurrence, and when it exists, a fragile one. The Earth itself had periods of extinction events that nearly turned our little blue planet into a barren death world not unlike Mars.

And we have taken life, including our own, for granted. Last Life of Leaves tells a story of how it is lost and regained, and serves as a warning and reminder to us all.

Nuclear chemistry is a field that straddles both physics and chemistry. This holds no surprise as chemistry is, in a way, a subset of applied physics. Therefore things that are usually linked to physics (radiation, and subatomic particles) can and will affect things we interact with in our lives - thing that are ultimately chemicals.

Just don't press your luck on becoming the Incredible Hulk.