Introduction: Chemical Sciences in the Modern World

The Politics of Chemistry

“…Hence it has not been integrated in cultural history the way these sciences were. 59 When approaching the history of twentieth-century chemistry, we are therefore facing a relatively unexplored field that requires a betterequipped historiographic framework for the analysis of the complex relationships between chemistry, industry and the economy, its material culture (from labs to instruments and places of chemical practice), its flexible disciplinary boundaries (which have accompanied chemistry throughout its history, as well as in the twentieth century) and finally its political dimension. 60 This book therefore attempts to invigorate the historiography of chemistry from all of these perspectives, and all of the cases appearing in the following chapters support this research agenda, with the final aim being to contribute to a history of twentieth-century chemistry that can offer a better understanding of the period in all its complexity.…”

Thomas Midgley, Jr., and the Development of New Substances: A Case Study for Chemical Educators

“…23 Chemistry was definitely institutionalized in the form of industrial research and was focused on the creation and commercial production of new materials. 24 By addressing the context for developing new molecules, one must point out the work of Thomas Midgley, Jr. A mechanical engineer by training, Midgley was a protagonist in the production of new compounds, such as tetraethyl lead and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which were presented as solutions to pressing industrial problems. The way Midgley and colleagues arrived at these compounds points to intense reflection on the periodicity of elemental properties.…”