Sweet Story of Chemistry

Where did chemistry come from? Early "chemists" focused on practical problems -how to make dyes and perfumes, soap manufacture, uses of metals, and glass production, among others. The goal was not to understand the physical world- that came later. People just wanted to make things that would improve their lives in some way.The history of chemistry is an interesting and challenging one. Very early chemists were often motivated mainly by the achievement of a specific goal or product. Making perfume and soaps did not require much theory, just a good recipe and careful attention to detail. There was no standard way of naming materials (and no periodic table that everyone could agree on). However, the science developed over the centuries.Major progress was made in putting chemistry on a solid foundation when Robert Boyle (1637-1691) began his research in chemistry. He developed the basic ideas for the behavior of gases; gases could thereafter be described mathematically. Boyle also helped pioneer the idea that small particles could combine to form molecules. Many years later, John Dalton used these ideas to develop the atomic theory.