Making Life Better, Healthier And Safer

(NASPA)-Behind any great product, chances are there is innovative chemistry at its core. Chemistry is used to make more than 70,000 products that surround us every day-from life-saving medicines and flame-retardant baby clothes to automobiles, airplanes, electronics, communications and sporting equipment.

How much do you know about chemistry in your life? Can you answer these questions?

1. What does chemistry have to do with computers?
2. Can you name some products in your house that chemistry was used to make? (answers are at the end of this article).

Chemistry makes life better, healthier and safer in thousands of ways. Here are just a few examples:

• Clean water-Using chemistry, carbons and other ingredients can safely remove unhealthy and undesirable elements from the drinking water we need.
• Sporting goods-Chemistry helps to produce better athletic gear and equipment, from golf clubs and swimsuits to kneepads and helmets that help keep you safe.
• Health care-Besides medicines, chemistry is used in medical equipment and supplies, including X-rays, blood bags and bandages. Chemical products can also improve health with better-yielding crops and more nutritious foods.

Want to learn more? Go to this Web site: www.cromptoncorp.com. On the site's home page, you'll see a link titled "Learn how chemicals are made safely and how they improve the quality of our lives." Click on the link and you'll go to a program that gives you details about how chemistry affects our lives and shows you how chemicals are made. Once you get to the program, you make the chemical process happen by clicking through various steps. This educational program is great for students, teachers-and anyone who wants to learn.

"The educational piece on our Web site was designed not only to spread the word about how chemistry improves our quality of life, but also to encourage young people to take an interest in science as a career," said Vincent A. Calarco, chairman, president and CEO of Crompton Corporation, which developed the site.

The educational program also includes a glossary of chemical terms and links to other educational Web sites.

Quiz answers

1. Silicon chemistry and high-performance polymers make today's computer microprocessors possible. Fiber optics created through chemistry are the backbone of the global telecommunications industry and our emerging Internet society. Plastics will become the basis for future computer chip manufacturing.
2. Inside your home, chemistry is essential to appliances (like your refrigerator), furniture, wall coverings, carpeting and cleaning materials. Chemistry also is an essential part of home construction-in pipes, siding, windows and frames, electrical wiring, roofing, paints, sealants, adhesives and insulation.

To learn more about chemistry in everyday life, visit www.cromptoncorp.com.

Archives:

• 11-28-02 Keeping The Space Station On Track
• 12-16-02 ISS: Four Years And Still Growing

More Science and Technology Archives

Sponsor