Foundations of Chemistry最新文献

{"title":"Editorial 80","authors":"Eric Scerri","doi":"10.1007/s10698-025-09551-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10698-025-09551-3","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":568,"journal":{"name":"Foundations of Chemistry","volume":"27 2","pages":"145 - 146"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144927094","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Editorial 79","authors":"Eric Scerri","doi":"10.1007/s10698-025-09547-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10698-025-09547-z","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":568,"journal":{"name":"Foundations of Chemistry","volume":"27 1","pages":"1 - 1"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-06-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145170158","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Foreword to the special issue","authors":"Hrvoj Vančik","doi":"10.1007/s10698-025-09548-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10698-025-09548-y","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":568,"journal":{"name":"Foundations of Chemistry","volume":"27 2","pages":"147 - 148"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144927095","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Born-Oppenheimer Approximation and its role in the reduction of chemistry","authors":"Eric Scerri","doi":"10.1007/s10698-025-09543-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10698-025-09543-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The article sets out to clarify a number of confusions that exist in connection with the Born–Oppenheimer approximation (BOA) (Born-Oppenheimer, 1927). It is generally claimed that chemistry cannot be reduced to quantum mechanics because of the nature of this commonly used approximation in quantum chemistry, that is popularly believed to require a ‘clamping’ of the nuclei. It is also claimed that the notion of molecular structure, which is so central to chemistry, cannot be recovered from the quantum mechanical description of molecules and that it must be imposed by hand through the BOA. Such an alleged failure of reduction is then taken to open the door to concepts such as emergence and downward causation. Another mistaken view is that chemists have no choice but to use the BOA whereas there is an entire sub-discipline which involves non-Born Oppenheimer calculations, and which regularly and successfully calculates many chemical and biochemical properties of molecules. Yet another misconception, according to the present author, is the view that the application of the BOA represents a violation of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. Many of the claims made in the philosophy of chemistry community are based on the highly technical papers of authors such as Sutcliffe and Wooley, many of which date from about 50 years ago. While these authors remained skeptical of the possibility of recovering molecular structure from quantum mechanics, others maintained that it would eventually possible to do so. Significant progress has now been made in this direction. For example, whereas it is claimed that the full, or Coulombic Hamiltonian, for a molecule precludes the existence of molecular dipoles, some recent calculations have succeeded in obtaining the <i>exact value</i> of dipole moment of the LiH molecule. Even more significantly, a group in Norway has now succeeded in recovering the structure of the D₃⁺ molecule in a completely ab initio manner without applying the BOA, but through the use of a Monte Carlo approach.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":568,"journal":{"name":"Foundations of Chemistry","volume":"27 2","pages":"183 - 197"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10698-025-09543-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144927092","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Why do chemists take the chemical bond as real?","authors":"Hirofumi Ochiai","doi":"10.1007/s10698-025-09544-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10698-025-09544-2","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Why do chemists think that the bond is real in spite of objections raised from the quantum mechanical studies of molecules? (Parr and Yang in Density-functional theory of atoms and molecules Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1994) Focusing on the cognitive aspect of investigative practices in chemistry, we reveal the meaning of the chemical bond for chemists and why they take it as real. Our argument is based on the historical studies of the bond and an understanding of the epistemological technique of transdiction as well. The latter is a way of reasoning developed since the days of Newton. The rationalist reconstruction of forces of nature is an illustration of transdiction as a tool of building theories. In the history of chemistry, a comparison between the notions of a directed valence proposed by van’t Hoff and an asymmetrical molecule by Le Bel shows transdiction has some methodological differences in application. In relation to transdiction we argue the meaning of the word ‘<i>hypotheses non fingo</i>,’ which serves as a key to understanding cognitive grounds for reality in experimental sciences. Our approach adopted in this study is characterized by functional realism we advocate in the context of organic chemistry. (Ochiai in Found Chem 26: 399–411, 2024) This approach reveals that the bond is a kind of function of the molecule that becomes actualized on occasions of solving problems in organic chemistry. Provided that reality is the epistemological concept, bonds are real for chemists in terms of function expected from chemical substances. It should be noted that the confusion between chemical ‘bond’ and quantum mechanical ‘bonding’ causes a lot of problems in understanding the concept of bond. The bond is a coded representation and not a visualization of quantum mechanical facts. Such is also the case with molecular structure, which is a functional map, as it were, to show what part of the molecule is susceptible to chemical transformations. (Ochiai in Hyle Int J Philos Chem 19: 139–160, 2013) It should be distinguished from the images of molecules obtained by using Scanning Tunneling Microscopy, for instance. This analysis shows that chemistry cannot be reduced to so-called more fundamental sciences like quantum mechanics, for the latter is not concerned with the functional aspects of chemical substances.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":568,"journal":{"name":"Foundations of Chemistry","volume":"27 2","pages":"173 - 181"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144927142","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The concept of ‘nature’ in chemistry in a digital and ecological age","authors":"Christian Schnurr","doi":"10.1007/s10698-025-09536-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10698-025-09536-2","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The chemical understanding of ‘nature’ is a naturalistic one where ‘nature’—understood as the chemical dynamics that guide material change—coincides with chemical reality and possibility. A naturalistic chemist considers all chemical substances equally ‘natural’, and more importantly also all possible substances. I characterize the first point as the ‘monistic’ and the second as the ‘potentialistic’ understanding of ‘nature’ in chemistry. I argue that this notion of ‘nature’ is ecologically vacuous and lies at the heart of the ecological havoc that modern chemistry is causing. Not only because of these ecological concerns but also because of the increasing digitization of chemistry is the chemical self-image as a ‘synthesis science’ at a crossroads. In the digital age, I claim, chemistry is increasingly becoming a ‘simulation science’. I evaluate these developments from an ecological perspective. In a recourse of ecological visions of chemistry, I outline possibilities of synergies between an ecological and a digital transformation of chemistry.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":568,"journal":{"name":"Foundations of Chemistry","volume":"27 2","pages":"149 - 171"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10698-025-09536-2.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144927145","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Epistemological obstacles in teaching and learning cellular respiration","authors":"Martín Pérgola,&nbsp;Gastón Pérez","doi":"10.1007/s10698-025-09538-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10698-025-09538-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In this study, we present a didactic analysis of the impact of epistemological obstacles -identified by various studies over the past 30 years- may have on the learning of biochemical models of cellular respiration. Epistemological obstacles refer to general reasoning patterns that shape people’s conceptions on different topics, such as teleology, essentialism, and linear causal reasoning, among others. Our analysis aims to characterize these epistemological obstacles as they underlie the conceptions that emerge in the teaching and learning of cellular respiration within the context of biochemistry education. This topic has been relatively unexplored from this perspective in biochemistry education research, particularly at the interface of biology and chemistry, where various alternative conceptions have been identified. Similarly, the specific process of cellular respiration -central to cellular metabolism and energy production in living organisms- has received limited attention from this viewpoint. Furthermore, in this article, we propose strategies to address these epistemological obstacles in educational settings, with a specific focus on cellular respiration. We argue that surveying and characterizing these epistemological obstacles in biochemistry education can support the development of teaching strategies that effectively address them in science classes, fostering metacognitive vigilance and conceptual understanding.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":568,"journal":{"name":"Foundations of Chemistry","volume":"27 2","pages":"319 - 338"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144927143","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The rivers in our tears: chemistry, literature and philosophy in the short story “Best Is Water” by Primo Levi","authors":"Carlos Sérgio Leonardo Júnior,&nbsp;Luciana Massi","doi":"10.1007/s10698-025-09537-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10698-025-09537-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The relationship between science and literature has been partially explored by the philosophy of chemistry, but without investigations into a modern representation of chemistry and the work of the chemist. In this article, we aim to investigate how Levi humanizes science in his science fiction, employing a theoretical framework that combines philosophical and historical perspectives on science and chemistry. By analyzing the short story “Best Is Water”, we also demonstrate how Levi prompts reflections on the nature of modern chemistry and the work of the technical chemist. The analysis of the story was organized into four themes identified based on narrative conflicts and philosophical references: more viscous water; the work of the technical chemist; nature outside the laboratory; and the limits of knowledge about water. The analysis considered categories related to the chemist’s worldview, and some philosophical as well as historical aspects from science and chemistry. In “Best Is Water”, we identified that Levi: humanizes science and philosophical topics; problematizes the technical job of a chemist and the use of prototypes; expresses a conception of reality that is stratified and in movement, confronting neopositivist science and empirical realism; shows the importance of the chemist’s sensibility in raw reality. This analysis contributes to the philosophy of chemistry by deepening the relationship between chemistry, literature and philosophy, and exploring philosophical aspects of the representation of the chemist and his work in the laboratory.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":568,"journal":{"name":"Foundations of Chemistry","volume":"27 2","pages":"199 - 220"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144927093","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"On the very idea of a social enantiomorphism","authors":"Clevis R. Headley","doi":"10.1007/s10698-025-09535-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10698-025-09535-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>A fundamental problem confronting the paradigm of philosophical liberalism concerns efforts to theorize the relationship between sameness and difference. The specific challenge in question is to account for difference without thinking difference within the structural logic of sameness and identity. This essay introduces the notion of social enantiomorphism and recruits concepts from the philosophy of chemistry to propose an alternative approach to theorizing the relationship between sameness and difference. Inspired by the philosophy of chemistry and chemical practices, this essay utilizes the idea of chirality (i.e., handedness) to explore the extent to which sameness and difference can be considered not as radical opposites but as complementary relations. The concept of chirality entails critical involvement with the chemical notions of isomers, enantiomers, etc. These chemical notions facilitate thinking about historical processes and other socio-cultural phenomena as mirror-images that are non-superimposable. A few historical examples will be discussed to illustrate the idea of social enantiomorphism.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":568,"journal":{"name":"Foundations of Chemistry","volume":"27 1","pages":"3 - 18"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145162308","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Attempts to account for chemical periodicity in terms of the electronic structure of elements: Thomson, Bohr and Madelung","authors":"Juan Quílez","doi":"10.1007/s10698-025-09534-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10698-025-09534-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This paper performs a historical study of the attempts made by Thomson and Bohr to explain the Periodic Table in terms of the electronic configurations of chemical elements. Specifically, Thomson’s early theoretical ideas about the electronic arrangements of atoms are initially outlined. This system gave way to the first quantum constrains introduced by Bohr in 1913. It is discussed how Bohr eventually revised this initial work on this topic ten years later. Then, it is presented a concise historical account of the progressive incorporation of quantum numbers in the different theories of the electronic structure of elements. In this regard, the contributions made by Sommerfeld, Stoner and Pauli are examined. Finally, the Madelung rule is analyzed, focusing on both how it has normally been used to teach students the atomic electronic configurations and its limitations. These shortcomings are usually not considered in chemistry textbooks. It is reported how this neglect generates several incorrect teaching assumptions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":568,"journal":{"name":"Foundations of Chemistry","volume":"27 2","pages":"287 - 317"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144927091","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}