What is a physicist doing?

Physical chemist is a scientist who studies physical chemistry, subfield chemistry that focuses on examining chemical phenomena within physical laws. These chemists tend to conduct research aimed at discovering physical mechanisms and reasons for chemical phenomena, such as reactions and energy distribution. Methods in physical chemistry are applied to many different areas of chemistry, including thermodynamics, chemical kinetics, the relationship between intermolecular forces and physical properties and electrical conductivity. A physical chemist can find work in different areas, including research, education and industry. Generally, advanced postgraduate study is required for progress in one of these areas.

There are two different but closely related levels on which a physical chemist can study chemical phenomena: on a macroscopic level that tends to focus on the emerging properties of large groups of molecules or molecular levelUly and how small groups of molecules interact with each other. A common goal in physical chemistry is to explain the relationships between molecular characteristics and macroscopic properties. Surface tension provides a good example of this - for example, some insects are able to walk on the water surface due to the cohesive properties of water molecules.

Physical chemistry is divided into many different 16th, but the most commonly studied are thermodynamics, quantum mechanics and chemical kinetics. Physical chemist studying thermodynamics is interested in movement and exchange of energy in chemical phenomena, especially chemical reactions. Quantum mechanics include the study of the structure of atoms and molecules and can provide insight into why there are some reactions like them. Physical chemist Interest in studying and manipulating the speed of chemical reactions is likely to study chemical kinetics. Is uncommon for an individual to study only oneFrom these areas to exclude all others, because there is a large amount of overlapping in chemistry.

Many different organizations hire qualified physical chemists. For example, these experts can find both teaching and research work at universities or research institutes. Tasks are also often available for physical chemists in industry, because companies that benefit from chemical processes are constantly looking for ways to optimize their processes. Many government and military research institutions also hire these types of scientists. A physical chemist can work on any of the different types of projects, including efficient energy, thermodynamically stable computer parts and acceleration of industrial chemical processes.