Chief Longwind Of The North
Certified/Certifiable
I have a bone to pick with all of the non-scientific, non-technical people out there who shudder at the word "chemical" as if it was the greatest evil in on the planet. As defined by Webster's Dictionary, chemistry is: a science that deals with the composition, structure, and properties of substances and with the transformations that they undergo2 a: the composition and chemical properties of a substance <the chemistry of iron> b: chemical processes and phenomena (as of an organism) <blood chemistry>.
Chemistry is an essential science in food nutrition, medicine, metalurgy, and a host of other useful disciplines. It is the science by which we find the nutrients found in various foods.
Chemicals are substances derived or created by chemical processes, or the combination of multiple substances to form another substance. Loosely, stainless steel is a chemically altered form of iron. Koolaid is a chemically derived soft drink. Flavor extracts are chemicals in which the flavor producing molecules are extracted from the parent compounds.
What we think of as chemicals are often times simply the scientific name for a naturally occuring substance, such as papain, the enzyme found in papaya, or bromilin, a tenderizing agent found in pineapple. And then there is [SIZE=-1]acetylsalicylic acid. It is used and has been used by millions of people to relieve pain, prevent heart attacks, reduce fever, and relieve inflamation. It is a chemical that is inexpensive, and hard to replace. Using it has become a normal part of life for many people. What is this chemical? You might know it better by its other name, aspirin.
It's true that chemicals are abused by companies and can pose serious health risks. But other chemicals, and substance derived by the use of chemicals has improved the lives of countless people. And no, I'm not a chemist. I just want everyone to understand that everything has the potential for good and bad. Used properly, chemicals help us. Misused, they hurt us.
Case in point (the point that everything can be used for good and bad), there is a movie where a lady killed her husband with a frozen leg of lamb, and then cooked the lamb and fed it at a picknic to get rid of the evidence. That leg of lamb was bad for the husband, good for the people at the picknic.
Chemicals can be good.
Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
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Chemistry is an essential science in food nutrition, medicine, metalurgy, and a host of other useful disciplines. It is the science by which we find the nutrients found in various foods.
Chemicals are substances derived or created by chemical processes, or the combination of multiple substances to form another substance. Loosely, stainless steel is a chemically altered form of iron. Koolaid is a chemically derived soft drink. Flavor extracts are chemicals in which the flavor producing molecules are extracted from the parent compounds.
What we think of as chemicals are often times simply the scientific name for a naturally occuring substance, such as papain, the enzyme found in papaya, or bromilin, a tenderizing agent found in pineapple. And then there is [SIZE=-1]acetylsalicylic acid. It is used and has been used by millions of people to relieve pain, prevent heart attacks, reduce fever, and relieve inflamation. It is a chemical that is inexpensive, and hard to replace. Using it has become a normal part of life for many people. What is this chemical? You might know it better by its other name, aspirin.
It's true that chemicals are abused by companies and can pose serious health risks. But other chemicals, and substance derived by the use of chemicals has improved the lives of countless people. And no, I'm not a chemist. I just want everyone to understand that everything has the potential for good and bad. Used properly, chemicals help us. Misused, they hurt us.
Case in point (the point that everything can be used for good and bad), there is a movie where a lady killed her husband with a frozen leg of lamb, and then cooked the lamb and fed it at a picknic to get rid of the evidence. That leg of lamb was bad for the husband, good for the people at the picknic.
Chemicals can be good.
Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
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