(BQ) Part 2 book “Basic sciences in ophthalmology” has contents: Some history of chemistry, carbon dioxide, redox reactions, if you are interested in more, matter - using water as an example, lipids, and other contents. | 8 Some History of Chemistry Related sciences such as physics, chemistry, and biology merge seamlessly into each other, which makes it difficult for us to clearly distinguish among these sciences. The terms “biophysics,” “physical chemistry,” or “biochemistry” imply the flowing connectivity between scientific fields. The topics in this book are, therefore, assigned to the various scientific chapters somewhat arbitrarily. What is the link between ophthalmology and chemistry? Chemistry is the basis of biology, which, in turn, provides information about the function of the eye. Chemistry is the science of the composition, structure, properties, and reactions of matter. We shall begin by describing some of the first steps toward modern chemistry. First Steps Toward Modern Chemistry The “father of modern chemistry” was the French chemist Lavoisier,1 the son of a prominent advocate, born to a wealthy family in Paris. At Lavoisier’s time, chemistry was so underdeveloped it could hardly be called a science. The main view of combustion, or burning, was that of the “Phlogiston Theory,” which stated that certain materials contain a fire-like element called “Phlogiston,” which was liberated by burning; 1 Antoine Lavoisier (1743–1794), French chemist who disproved the “Phlogiston theory.” conversely, when those materials were heated, the “phlogiston” entered the material. One major problem with this theory was that, when some metals such as magnesium (which were considered to be rich in phlogiston) were oxidized, the resulting oxidized metal was heavier than the initial metal even though it was supposed to have lost weight. Lavoisier disproved the phlogiston theory by showing that combustion required a gas, oxygen, which had a weight. In a paper titled “Memoir on Combustion in General,” he presented his theory that combustion was a reaction in which oxygen combines with other elements. A simple example is the combustion reaction between hydrogen and oxygen (Fig. .
