The Quiet Period of Chemistry

Chances are, you’re not like me: you cringe when someone says the word “chemistry.” Your memory of it vaguely harkens back to an undergrad class whose knowledge you flushed once you finished the final. That’s okay — my goal for this series is to change that paradigm, make it understandable to all, and provide some entertainment.

After Mendeleev’s Jedi mind trick where he accurately predicted the existence and properties of then-unknown elements (mid-1860's), chemistry entered a “quiet” period. It wasn’t really quiet because there was plenty of development taking place, but…