Gilbert N. Lewis
He introduced the concept of covalent bonding and the Lewis dot structure for molecules.
Most quoted
"We may say that a basic substance is one which has a lone pair of electrons which may be used to complete the stable group of another atom, and that an acid is one which can employ a lone pair from another molecule in completing the stable group of one of its own atoms."
— from Valence and the Structure of Atoms and Molecules, 1923
"I have no patience with attempts to identify science with measurement, which is but one of its tools, or with any definition of the scientist which would exclude a Darwin, a Pasteur, or a Kekule."
— from The Anatomy of Science, 1926
"The essential feature of the theory of relativity is that it introduces a new conception of space and time, not that it modifies the laws of mechanics and electrodynamics."
— from The Anatomy of Science, 1926
All quotes by Gilbert N. Lewis (412)
I have been much interested in the problem of the structure of atoms and molecules, and especially in the nature of the chemical bond.
A chemical bond is a pair of electrons held jointly by two atoms.
The most fundamental property of an acid is its ability to accept a pair of electrons.
The most fundamental property of a base is its ability to donate a pair of electrons.
The electron pair bond is the most important single concept in modern chemistry.
The whole of chemistry is the study of the electron.
The chemist is not interested in the ultimate nature of matter, but in its transformations.
The laws of thermodynamics are the most fundamental laws of nature.
The free energy of a system is the maximum amount of work that can be extracted from it.
Entropy is a measure of the disorder of a system.
The universe is running down, and entropy is increasing.
The concept of the photon is one of the most revolutionary ideas in physics.
Light is composed of discrete particles called photons.
The photon is a quantum of energy.
The laws of quantum mechanics govern the behavior of atoms and molecules.
The electron is a fundamental particle of matter.
The nucleus of an atom contains protons and neutrons.
Heavy water is a form of water in which the hydrogen atoms are replaced by deuterium atoms.
Heavy water has different physical and chemical properties from ordinary water.
The study of isotopes is important for understanding the structure of atoms and molecules.
Contemporaries of Gilbert N. Lewis
Other Chemistrys born within 50 years of Gilbert N. Lewis (1875–1946).