17 molecules that changed the world

By Amy Bullen
Cosmos Online

All molecules are not created equal. Some have saved billions of lives, wreaked environmental havoc
or made the world a more colourful place. Here's our selection of those that have changed the course
of human history.

PENICILLIN — R-C9H11N2O4S When British microbiologist

Alexander Fleming stumbled upon penicillin in 1928, he
couldn’t have imagined the impact it would have on modern
medicine. Fleming noticed that Petri dishes with mould on
them grew no bacteria, and in doing so discovered the first
antibiotic. Before penicillin came into widespread use in the
1940s, wounds and diseases like syphilis were killers;
antibiotics have since saved an estimated 200 million lives.
Generalised Penicillin Molecule: The “R” is a
group that varies between different types of
SODIUM CHLORIDE — NaCl penicillin. It contains only non-metal
Salt paved the way for modern civilisation; it was used to elements.
preserve vegetables and meat as long as 4,000 years ago.
This gave our ancestors the freedom to store food for hard times, travel long distances and live in harsh
climates. Salt is also an important ingredient in the production of chemicals, soap and paper. Sodium
chloride is in such high demand that in 2006 alone, 240 million tonnes were produced.

POTASSIUM NITRATE — KNO3

As the key ingredient in gunpowder, potassium nitrate allowed humans to propel bullets from guns and, in
doing so, changed the face of warfare. Today, there are more than 500 million handguns in circulation,
causing at least 1,000 deaths every day. The formula for gunpowder was likely discovered in the 8th
century, although it wasn’t until the 13th century that it was first used in canons.

ASPIRIN — C9H8O4
Aspirin is the most widely used drug in the world, with more than 100 billion
tablets consumed annually. The active component, salicylic acid, originally
from willow bark, was used as a folk remedy as long ago as the 5th century
BC. But it wasn’t until 1897 that German chemist Felix Hoffman managed to
synthesise aspirin in a pure and stable form, making it one of the earliest
synthetic drugs. Aspirin is now taken for a huge variety of afflictions, from
fever and arthritis to the prevention of heart attacks, stroke and dementia.

A history of killing pain: SODIUM STEARATE — NaC18H35O2

First used in the 5th It’s hard to imagine how life might have smelled for the human race prior to
century, aspirin is the the invention of soap. More fastidious hygiene has also been important for
most widely used drug in stemming the spread of disease. Sodium stearate, the active ingredient in
the world, with more than
soap, works its magic by helping oil to dissolve in water. According to the
100 billion tablets
consumed annually. United Nations Children’s Fund, hand washing with soap prevents up to 1.4
million deaths per year through acute respiratory infections.

SILICON — Si
In 1954 the first silicon transistor initiated what has become a A$160 billion global market in
semiconductors. Silicon is a key component of computer chips and circuits and it’s estimated that there
are currently more than one billion computers in use worldwide. Silicon is also used in solar cells,
waterproofing treatments and seals, explosives and breast implants.
RUBBER — C5H8
Natural rubber has been gathered from the sap of plants for centuries. But rubber only began to be used
widely after 1839, when Charles Goodyear found a way to make it strong, durable and elastic. In 1931
U.S. chemist Elmer Bolton developed a synthetic version, and in 2005 we produced 21 million tonnes, with
tires and tubes accounting for 56 per cent of consumption. Other applications include gloves, rubber
bands and balloons. Even some rockets and missiles are powered by synthetic, rubber-based fuels.

SILICON DIOXIDE — SiO2

As the principal component in glass, silicon dioxide was used as early as 5000 BC. All the panes of glass
in the world today cover about four billion square metres. Glass has also been essential for test tubes,
telescopes, microscopes, mirrors and camera lenses.

POLYETHYLENE — (C2H4)N
By far the most popular plastic, polyethylene is used in grocery bags, artificial joints and plastic bottles. It’s
even found in chewing gum. In fact, polyethylene is so ubiquitous that it’s hard to imagine life without it.
But in 1933 when English chemists Eric Fawcett and Reginald Gibson discovered it, they thought of it as
nothing more than a waste product. Over 70 years later, more than 60 million tonnes of polyethylene are
made each year; but there is a downside, as much of it ends up in landfill where it takes hundreds of years
to degrade.

DDT — C14H9Cl5
In the 1950s and 1960s, DDT was used to eliminate malaria from
Europe and North America in a program that, according to the
World Health Organisation, saved an estimated 25 million lives.
However, as early as the 1940s scientists had begun expressing
concern over hazards associated with the use of DDT, and
extensive research has since implicated the organochlorine
insecticide in the poisoning of humans, animals and the
DDT’s full name is dichlorodiphenyl-
environment. As a result, its use has been banned or restricted in
trichloroethane – You can see why
many countries.
everyone just calls it DDT!

MORPHINE — C17H19NO3
A potent painkiller, morphine was first isolated by German pharmacist Friedrich Sertürner in 1804. To this
day, it remains the most important drug used to minimise suffering in terminally ill patients, particularly
cancer sufferers. No other drug is as long-lasting and effective at managing severe pain. Despite this, 80
per cent of the world’s population has access to just six per cent of the world’s supply. Morphine is more
widely distributed in the form of the illicit drug heroin, with an industry estimated at nearly $100 billion
annually.

AMMONIA — NH3
In the early 20th century, the world’s growing population couldn’t find enough ammonia to fertilise all its
crops. Due to the discovery of a technique to mass-produce ammonia, called the Haber process, an
estimated two billion people are not starving today. We produce 100 million tonnes of ammonia for
fertiliser each year, but it is also an important ingredient in explosives.

IRON — Fe
Iron accounts for at least 90 per cent of metal production. Without it we wouldn’t have power lines or oil
refineries. Iron is a key component of cars, trains, planes, ships, fridges, dishwashers and computers. As a
chemical it’s also used in insecticides, water purification, sewage treatment and the production of
ammonia. Iron was first smelted 3,500 years ago, but it wasn’t until English engineer Henry Bessemer’s
invention in 1856 of an inexpensive way to mass-produce steel from iron that its use skyrocketed. In 2007
alone, 1,900 million tonnes of iron ore were produced, with 98 per cent of that used to make steel.
ETHANOL — C2H6O
If your head is swimming, you’re seeing double and suddenly finding everyone attractive, chances are that
ethanol is to blame. Worldwide, about two billion people enjoy ethanol, the intoxicant in alcohol. The
average Australian, for example, drinks about 10 L of pure alcohol each year. Historians suspect that it
was accidentally discovered when our ancestors’ grain stores were drenched with rain and fermented by
the Sun. The liquor reduces inhibitions, alters moods, impairs judgement and boosts sexual desire.
Alcohol consumption is the third largest risk factor for disease in developed countries.

SULPHURIC ACID — H2SO4

A country’s production of sulphuric acid is a good indication of its industrial might, because at some stage
nearly every manufactured good comes into contact with this highly corrosive stuff. It’s used in mining,
steel production, oil refining and chemical synthesis, and in the manufacture of fertilisers, detergents and
plastics. No wonder it’s nicknamed “the king of chemicals”. Sulphuric acid was discovered in the 8th
century, but it only became economically viable in 1746, when English chemist John Roebuck developed a
way to produce it in bulk. In 2005 world production of sulphuric acid was estimated at 193 million tonnes.

PROGESTIN — C21H30O2
As the principal component of the pill, progestin allowed women to separate sex from procreation, giving
them unprecedented freedom and control over their lives. First synthesised in 1951 by Austrian Carl
Djerassi, progestin stops ovulation by imitating the hormone progesterone. Between 1965 and 1995 global
fertility rates fell from 4.9 to 2.8 children per woman, largely due to the pill. Today, more than 70 million
women around the world use this oral contraceptive.

CARBON DIOXIDE — CO2

Scottish chemist Joseph Black discovered and isolated this potent greenhouse gas in the 1750s. At that
time, man-made CO2 emissions were about three million tonnes per year. But by 2005, emissions from
fossil fuels alone were 7.9 billion tonnes, with another 1.5 billion tonnes caused by forest clearing. Carbon
dioxide is the second most important greenhouse gas (after water vapour), trapping heat in our
atmosphere and increasing global temperatures via the greenhouse effect. Emissions continue to climb,
so unless there’s a drastic turnaround, expect the sea level rises, extreme weather events and mass
extinctions associated with a rapidly warming globe.
(5) 1. The title of the article is “17 molecules that changed the world”, however only twelve of
them are actually molecules! (There are two elements and three ionic compounds)
Identify the twelve molecules and the three ionic compounds. How can you distinguish
between the molecules and the ionic compounds?

- Molecules compound: Penicillin, Aspirin,Rubber,Silicon

Dioxide,Polyethylene,DDT,Morphine,Ammonia,Ethanol,Sulphuric acid, Progestin, Carbon Dioxide.
-Ionic compound:Sodium Chloride,Potassium Nitrate, Sodium Stearate.
-Ionic:metal and non metal.
-molecules :non metal and non metal.

(4) 2. Classify each of the chemicals listed as being important to human health, agriculture,
industry or \the environment.
-Penicillin:human health
-Sodium Chloride:industry
-Potassium Nitrate:human health
-Aspirin:human health
-sodium stearate:environment and human health
-Silicon:industry
-Rubber:industry
-Silicon Dioxide:industry
-Polyethylene:industry
-Morphine :human health
-Ammonia:agriculture
-Iron:industry
-Ethanol:human health
-Sulphuric Acid :industry
-Progestin:human health
-Carbon Dioxide :human health and environment.
-DDT:human health.
(3) 3. Which of the chemicals listed do you think is the most important to human civilisation? Why?

Carbon dioxide is the most important to human civilisation because it contributes a lot in the
photosynthesis of plants.In addiction, it plays an essential role in the atmosphere to help warm the
planet.Moreover,its level in the atmosphere is caused by civilization, amd affects civilization.

(3) 4. Are there any of the chemicals that you think humans could survive without? Why?

-KNO3 because guns and explosive shouldn’t be known when human use them with evil
purpose , killing each other .
-Polyethylene because it is most of the terrible agents causing environmental pollution, difficult
to decompose.
-DDT: because harming to people, animals and environment so it has been banned in many
countries.
-Ethanol:it make people lose their mind to hurt others and is one of the big causes of social
evils.
-Progestin:if there is, there are people who are no longer responsible because they are too
free.