In physics, structural theory explains the large variety in chemical compounds in terms of atoms making up molecules, the order in which atoms are put together in molecules and the electrons that hold them together. According to structural theory from a structural formula of a molecule alone it is possible to derive all physical and spectroscopic data and predict chemical reactivity.
Development of structural theory was initiated by Aleksandr Mikhailovich Butlerov to whom is attributed the following quote
- …the chemical nature of a compound molecule depends on the nature and quantity of its elementary constituents and its chemical structure.
Famous quotes containing the words structural and/or theory:
“The reader uses his eyes as well as or instead of his ears and is in every way encouraged to take a more abstract view of the language he sees. The written or printed sentence lends itself to structural analysis as the spoken does not because the reader’s eye can play back and forth over the words, giving him time to divide the sentence into visually appreciated parts and to reflect on the grammatical function.”
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)