Recommendation from Lee Deok-hwan (Professor Emeritus, Sogang University) 5
Preface 9

Chapter 1: Where Does Chemistry Come From and What Does It Explore? 17
Chapter 2: Principles of Chemistry, Part 1: Atoms and Molecules 37
Chapter 3: Principles of Chemistry, Part 2: Energy and Entropy 63
Chapter 4 Chemical Reactions 81
Chapter 5: Experimental Techniques in Chemistry 109
Chapter 6: What Chemistry Has Achieved 131
Chapter 7: Where is Chemistry Going? 159

Glossary 172
Translator's Note 178
Search 183

I hope that readers will enjoy their journey through the world of chemistry with this book.
In particular, if you have unpleasant memories about chemistry, I hope this book will help you overcome them.
The world of chemistry is very deep and wide.
There is no need to be afraid though.
Because chemistry is a story about the world, and it is also a story about us.
-Peter Atkins

The 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry went to John Goodenough (USA), Richard Whittingham (USA), and Akira Yoshino (Japan) for their contributions to the development of lithium-ion batteries.
Nowadays, it's hard to find someone who doesn't own a lithium-ion battery or at least one piece of equipment that contains one.
Lithium-ion batteries are an essential part of modern civilization and a fundamental technology for the future Fourth Industrial Revolution.
In fact, we live surrounded by the products of chemistry.
There is nothing that is not a product of chemistry, from food, clothing, and shelter to the infrastructure of urban civilization.
In fact, our country's economy also depends heavily on chemicals.
For example, the production and export volumes of our country's petrochemical industry alone amount to 90 trillion won and 58 trillion won, respectively.
(As of 2018) In the lithium-ion battery field, which won the Nobel Prize for this year to Japan and the United States, our chemical companies (Samsung SDI, LG Chem, etc.) are contributing to the export industry by controlling 30% of the global market.
If anyone asks what science is useful for, just look at what chemistry has accomplished.

However, chemistry does not receive much attention among educated people.
It is not easy to find general books on chemistry in the publishing market.
It's nothing compared to evolutionary biology or astrophysics, which have such prominent speakers as Richard Dawkins and Carl Sagan.
That doesn't mean there are no books or writers in the field of chemistry.
Peter William Atkins, author of What is Chemistry?, recently published by Science Books, is a representative chemistry writer.


Peter Atkins is best known as the author of Atkins' Physical Chemistry, one of the world's best-selling and most widely used physical chemistry textbooks for over 40 years since its first publication in 1978 (currently in its 11th edition).
He was a professor of chemistry at Lincoln College, Oxford University, a director of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Royal Institution, and chairman of the Education Committee of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). He also published over 20 books, including textbooks on physical and inorganic chemistry, making significant contributions to chemistry education and popularization.
Among chemists around the world, there are few who graduated without reading even a single one of his textbooks.
(Physical chemistry and inorganic chemistry are required courses in most university chemistry departments.)

Peter Atkins, a veteran chemist, is famous not only for his textbooks but also for his popular books on chemistry.
His textbooks, which break free from the rigid and systematic framework of textbooks, neatly and elegantly explain the fundamental concepts and principles of chemistry, a vast and complex field, through surprising analogies and masterful explanations.
For example, in 『The Kingdom of the Elements』, which has been translated and published in Korea, the periodic table containing about 110 elements is explained without a single formula, comparing it to topography with mountain ranges, valleys, rivers, and plains.
This book, which provides a conceptual map of atomic, elemental, and quantum chemistry, is still recommended by numerous chemists and chemistry teachers as an introductory text for chemistry a quarter of a century after its publication.

In this book, which tackles the question, "What is chemistry?" head-on, Peter Atkins demonstrates his skills as a seasoned chemist and a master writer.
This book is fundamentally intended to provide readers with a concise and clear introduction to the fascinating, intellectually and economically significant world of chemistry.
At the same time, it aims to dispel vague aversions toward chemistry by showing adult readers who have only bad memories of chemistry, as well as young students who harbor a vague fear of chemistry, what it is like to see nature, the universe, materials, and the world through the eyes of a chemist.
Between reductionist physics, which pursues the smallest elementary particles and the simplest fundamental equations, and biology, which deals with life phenomena full of diversity and complexity that cannot be reduced to a single equation or particle, Peter Atkins explains the fascinating world of chemistry, which studies the transformation process in which atoms meet to create other atoms or molecules, and synthesizes molecules that have never existed in nature since the beginning of time, from its origins to its principles and future in a short book that can be read in half a day.

In the words of Peter Atkins, a master of chemistry, chemists can be 'couple managers' who pair one atom with another, or they can be convergents who connect physics and biology, and merge pure science with applied technology, or they can be modern-day alchemists who create technological civilization by modifying the four elements of water, earth, air, and fire.
At the same time, they are also accused of being environmental polluters and manufacturers of biochemical weapons, and are also responsible for developing technologies to restore the natural balance that humanity has disrupted.
As you read this book, which weaves together engaging explanations and vivid metaphors, you'll find yourself thinking very much like chemists.
For example, it will be possible to predict which combinations will be easy to form and which will be difficult to form, and it will be possible to guess how chemistry has transformed natural substances into useful products and how chemistry can be used to solve the numerous problems facing humanity.
Ultimately, as the author hopes, the unpleasant memories of chemistry that many adult readers have will be resolved.
It will also be a reference for science and engineering students who are considering their career paths.

A short and concise chemistry lecture that only a master can give.

Introducing chemistry concisely and clearly is never easy.
The method chosen by Professor Atkins, a master of writing textbooks that systematically and logically introduce the basic principles and laws of chemistry to college students majoring in chemistry, is unique.
It boldly abandons detailed explanations that are only necessary for scientists majoring in chemistry.
We focus on introducing only the essential key points necessary to understand the vast framework of chemistry.
It's not as easy as it sounds.
This is only possible if you have a firm belief in what's important and what's not. - Lee Deok-hwan (Professor Emeritus, Sogang University)

This book is designed to introduce readers to the fascinating, intellectually and economically significant world of chemistry.
My role is to guide you into the world of chemistry and help you see it clearly.
To this end, I will travel with readers through the world as seen through the eyes of chemists.
By understanding key concepts together, we will show how chemistry contributes to human culture and well-being.
We will also explain how chemists view and contemplate all the substances around us, from tiny pebbles to living organisms.
We will examine in detail how the knowledge chemists have accumulated through their sweat and toil is applied to transforming substances collected from the air or dug up from the ground into useful substances for our lives. - In the text

This book, consisting of seven chapters, covers the following topics:

- Where does chemistry come from?
- What does chemistry explore?
- What are the basic principles of chemistry?
- What is a chemical reaction?
- How do chemists do research?
- How has chemistry changed the world?
- What do chemists do?
- What will the future of chemistry look like?

It covers everything from the origins of chemistry to its principles and future.
The contents of each chapter are as follows.

Chapter 1: Where did chemistry come from and what does it explore?
In this chapter, we first look at medieval alchemy, the origin of chemistry.
Later, we will look in more detail at atoms, an important element of modern chemistry.
As scientific knowledge accumulated, chemistry was divided into several fields, including physical chemistry, inorganic chemistry, and organic chemistry.
It outlines the topics that each department studies.
Chemistry is also closely related to physics and biology, and the basic knowledge of chemistry was helped by physics, which later contributed greatly to the development of biology.
This relationship is also covered in detail.

Key concepts:
#Origins of Chemistry #Relationship between Alchemy and Chemistry #Relationship between Mathematics and Chemistry #Relationship between Physics and Mathematics and Chemistry #Atoms #Quantum Mechanics #Organic Chemistry #Physical Chemistry #Inorganic Chemistry #Analytical Chemistry #Biochemistry #Industrial Chemistry #Green Chemistry #Molecular Biology

Chapter 2: Principles of Chemistry, Part 1: Atoms and Molecules
In this chapter, we will look at atoms, one of the basic concepts of chemistry.
The way atoms combine to form molecules is a source of great curiosity for chemists.
This chapter explains the structure of the periodic table and explores how the fundamental knowledge contained in the table can be used to decipher the mechanisms and structures of chemical reactions and chemical bonds formed by the countless combinations of the 118 elements.

Key concepts:
#Periodic Table #Nucleus #Electron #Proton #Electron #Atomic Number #Electron Arrangement #Chemical Bond #Ionic Bond #Covalent Bond #Metallic Bond

Chapter 3: Principles of Chemistry, Part 2: Energy and Entropy
Without energy, nothing would happen in chemistry.
This chapter examines the role of energy and the concept of entropy as the engine of chemical change, providing a three-dimensional explanation of chemical reactions from both qualitative and quantitative perspectives.
You can also understand how thermodynamics, derived from physics, was utilized in chemistry and developed into thermochemistry.


Key concepts:
#Energy #Entropy #Thermodynamics #Law of Conservation of Energy #Law of Entropy #Thermochemistry #Enothermic Reaction #Exothermic Reaction #Reaction Rate #Reaction Mechanism #Activation Energy #Catalyst #Equilibrium

Chapter 4 Chemical Reactions
The essence of chemistry is the process by which combinations of atoms are converted into other combinations.
This chapter focuses on the process of this conversion, namely the chemical reaction.
Basic reactions can be divided into four types: acid-base reactions, oxidation-reduction reactions, radical reactions, and Lewis acid-base reactions.
There are several types, but each is not particularly complicated.
In this chapter, we will look at the basic knowledge and the efforts of chemists to uncover it.
The core of lithium-ion battery research, which won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, is the oxidation-reduction reaction.


Key concepts:
#Acid-base reaction #Oxidation-reduction reaction #Radical reaction #Lewis acid-base reaction #Substitution reaction #Polymerization

Chapter 5 Experimental Techniques in Chemistry
Understanding reactions and synthesizing new molecules requires a variety of techniques and equipment.
In particular, we are making great efforts to advance existing analytical methods and develop new technologies in analytical chemistry laboratories.
This chapter examines several experimental and analytical techniques used by chemists.

Key concepts:
#Titration #Filtration #Chromatography #Spectroscopy #Atomic Spectroscopy #Nuclear Magnetic Resonance #NMR #MRI #Mass Spectrometry #X-ray Diffraction #Scanning Tunneling Microscopy #Atomic Force Microscopy #STM #AFM #Van der Waals Force #Computational Chemistry #Combinatory Chemistry

Chapter 6: What Chemistry Has Achieved
In this chapter, we will examine how the key concepts and principles of chemistry we have discussed so far contribute to our lives.
We will explore the contributions of chemistry to the development and utilization of useful substances such as pharmaceuticals, pesticides and fertilizers, transportation, and weapons.
Through this, readers will understand how chemistry enriches the world, cures human diseases, extends lifespan, and creates the materials that form the basis of life.

Key concepts:
#reverse osmosis #genetic engineering #nitrogen capture #commercial ammonia production #calcium phosphate #sustainability #fossil fuels #solar cells #electrochemistry #fuel cells #hydrogen cells #petrochemicals #nuclear power #plastics #materials revolution #fiber optics #quantum computers #molecular computers #genomics #proteomics #chemical weapons #green chemistry #responsible chemistry

Chapter 7 Where is Chemistry Going?
This chapter explores the future of chemistry.
It will showcase the roles chemists play in areas of active research in the 21st century and in emerging topics expected to emerge, such as the development of new materials, innovation in computer technology, and the development of nanoscience and technology.
This chapter will give you an idea of ​​how chemistry will contribute to building future civilizations.

Key concepts:
#New Elements #Direct Observation of Atoms and Molecules #Nanoscience and Technology #Self-Assembly Molecules #Light Harvesting Technology #DNA Computers #Molecular Computer Synthesis #New Materials #Graphene #2D Chemistry #Surface Chemistry #Molecular Machines #Genomics #Proteomics #New Drug Development

An Elegant Guide to Chemistry for the Chemophobic

Chemistry has many dazzling achievements, but it also has a lot of homework to do.
It is a pure science that produces insights into nature rather than goods, although it is useful in many ways.
Thanks to chemists' extensive knowledge base, we now understand how matter works, from tiny pebbles to complex organisms.
This insight has led to the advancement of human civilization and allowed us to view nature with wonder in another sense.
This alone makes chemistry an amazing discipline.
This book, which condenses the world's most useful chemistry into a comprehensive guide for busy modern people, can literally transform even "chemophobes" into "chemistry enthusiasts."


By the time we reach Chapter 6, having examined all the various components of the discipline of chemistry, readers will hear the true voice of a veteran professor who has dedicated his life to the advancement and education of chemistry.
This chapter is the core of the book. Professor Atkins neither praises chemistry through fancy words nor tries to cover up its problems through fake science.
Instead, in a calm voice, he introduces the relationship between the discipline of chemistry and human civilization from primitive times to the present day, and the problems that arose in the process.
Moreover, it points out that chemists have the task of further developing civilization and solving problems.
I hope these parts are well conveyed to the readers.
-From the translator's note