Chemistry (from Greek χημε?α khemeia meaning "alchemy") is the science of matter at the atomic to molecular scale, dealing primarily with collections of atoms, such as molecules, crystals, and metals. Chemistry deals with the composition and statistical properties of such structures, as well as their transformations and interactions to become materials encountered in everyday life. Chemistry also deals with understanding the properties and interactions of individual atoms with the purpose of applying that knowledge at the macroscopic level. According to modern chemistry, the physical properties of materials are generally determined by their structure at the atomic scale which is determined by the properties and energies of the interactions.
Chemistry is often called the "central science" because it connects other sciences, such as physics, material science, nanotechnology, biology, pharmacy, medicine, bioinformatics, and geology. These connections are formed through various sub-disciplines that utilize concepts from multiple scientific disciplines. For example, physical chemistry involves applying the principles of physics to materials at the atomic and subatomic level.
Chemistry pertains to the interactions of matter. These interactions may be between two material substances or between matter and energy, especially in conjunction with the First Law of Thermodynamics. Traditional chemistry involves interactions between substances in chemical reactions, where one or more substances become one or more other substances. Sometimes these reactions are driven by a catalyst, which may be another chemical substance present at the reaction (such as sulfuric acid catalyzing the electrolysis of water) or a non-material phenomenon (such as electromagnetic radiation in photochemical reactions). Traditional chemistry also deals with the analysis of chemicals both in and apart from a reaction, as in spectroscopy.
Laboratory, Institute of Biochemistry, University of CologneAll ordinary matter consists of atoms or the subatomic components that make up atoms; protons, electrons and neutrons. Atoms may be combined to produce more complex forms of matter such as ions, molecules or crystals. The structure of the world we commonly experience and the properties of the matter we commonly interact with are determined by properties of chemical substances and their interactions. Steel is harder than iron because its atoms are bound together in a more rigid crystalline lattice. Wood burns or undergoes rapid oxidation because it can react spontaneously with oxygen in a chemical reaction above a certain temperature.
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The University of Kansas, also referred to as KU or Kansas, is a public research university in the U.S. state of Kansas. The main campus in Lawrence, one of the largest college towns in Kansas, is on Mount Oread, the highest elevation in Lawrence. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area: the Edwards Campus in Overland Park, Kansas, and the university's medical school and hospital in Kansas City, Kansas. There are also educational and research sites in Parsons, Kansas, Topeka, Kansas, Garden City, Kansas, Hays, Kansas, and Leavenworth, Kansas, and branches of the medical school in Wichita, Kansas and Salina, Kansas. The university is one of the 62 members of the Association of American Universities.
Founded March 21, 1865, the university was opened in 1866, under a charter granted by the Kansas State Legislature in 1864 following enabling legislation passed in 1863 under the Kansas State Constitution, adopted two years after the 1861 admission of the former Kansas Territory as the 34th state into the Union following an internal civil war known as "Bleeding Kansas" during the 1850s.
Enrollment at the Lawrence and Edwards campuses was 28,401 students in 2016; an additional 3,383 students were enrolled at the KU Medical Center for an enrollment of 28,091 students across the three campuses. The university overall employed 2,814 faculty members in fall 2015.
