Comparing physics with chemistry, and theory with experiment — and a boost for chemistry

The Curious Wavefunction blog discusses 'The difference between chemistry and physics' (http://go.nature.com/vcWIdr) kicking off with a quote from William Lipscomb: “Chemistry is not 'physics with less rigor'. In chemistry there are discoverable guiding principles for systems which are too complex for a 'first principles' approach. The nature of chemistry is very difficult to explain to most physicists, in my experience!” Wavefunction agrees, saying “One has to think at the level of molecules and not just atoms [...] Knowing about quarks won't directly help you to understand the structure of DNA but knowing about hydrogen bonds definitely will.”

Derek Lowe is similarly philosophical at In the Pipeline (http://go.nature.com/FlKJTQ), discussing the relative value of theory and experiment. He contrasts the fame of theoretical physicists like Einstein, Feynmann and Hawking with the fact that “Chemistry [...] has always been an experimental science in the public mind. Say 'chemist', and people think of someone in a lab coat, in a lab, surrounded by chemicals.” But that's not a bad thing according to Lowe, because experiments are crucial in any field of science, and chemistry will always have enough experiments to go around.

We often grumble about the lack of credit chemists get in the wider public, so we're glad to see Eric Drexler addressing the balance (http://go.nature.com/Sp6Bca). He picks up on an article (http://go.nature.com/ZREgHV) about the 150th anniversary of what C&EN calls 'the first-ever international scientific conference', back in 1860 in Karlsruhe. The conference — suggested by Kekulé — was attended by some of ninteenth-century-chemistry's greatest names: Bunsen, Mendeleev and Erlenmeyer. The aim was to cut through the confusion and dissent among the international community about the composition of molecules. Although the conference didn't lead to immediate sweetness and light, the seeds were sown for the acceptance of Avogadro's perspective.