what is physical chemistry?

Answer 1

Let's put it this way: physical chemistry is what a chemistry class would look like if a physics professor were running it.

Because physics is concerned with energy, force, matter, and motion (generally), that means you'll be looking at those aspects of chemistry. It will be less about reactions and products and the like, but more about properties of matter, timing, and transfer and conversion of energy.

As such, it can be very interesting but carries the drawback of requiring the wickedly complex mathematics that physics often does. Many chemists do just fine in the rest of chemistry but have trouble with physical chemistry. But it's an interesting perspective, if you can avoid getting too caught up in the numbers.

Answer 2

It's the melding of physics and chemistry. The field generally deals with taking a physics approach to chemical bonding, speeds of electrons, etc. It's more informally known as P-chem and can be quite difficult to many people.

Answer 3

Physical chemistry is the application of physics to macroscopic, microscopic, atomic, subatomic, and particulate phenomena in chemical systems within the field of chemistry traditionally using the principles, practices and concepts of thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mechanics and kinetics.

Answer 4

Physical chemistry is generally the study of the nature and structure of basic particles (atoms and molecules), and thermodynamics (the chemistry of heat transfer). As against the study of chemical reactions (analytical chemistry) and organic molecules (organic chemistry).

Answer 5

Physical chemistry is the application of physics to macroscopic, microscopic, atomic, subatomic, and particulate phenomena in chemical systems within the field of chemistry traditionally using the principles, practices and concepts of thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mechanics and kinetics. It is mostly defined as a large field of chemistry, in which, several sub-concepts are applied; the inclusion of quantum mechanics is used to illustrate the application of physical chemistry to atomic and particulate chemical interaction or experimentation.

Physical chemistry is mostly referred to as a macromolecular doctrine, as the majority of the principles on which physical chemistry was founded composed entirely of macromolecular concepts, such as colloids.

1>The relationships that physical chemistry tries to resolve include the effects of:

2>Intermolecular forces on the physical properties of materials (plasticity, tensile strength, surface tension in liquids).
3>Reaction kinetics on the rate of a reaction.
The identity of ions on the electrical conductivity of materials.