SIBUR events

At the initiative of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), the United Nations has declared 2011 to be the International Year of Chemistry (IYC). The IYC’s official motto “Chemistry – our life, our future” is intended to emphasise the importance of this science for the present and future of human civilisation. The name of the organisation that launched this initiative is also symbolic. After all, chemistry is a pure science that have given humankind a large part of the knowledge we now have about the world around us, and its application in industry has given civilisation new materials and the technology for their production.

It is virtually impossible to imagine modern life without the achievements of chemical science and the chemical industry. The most striking thing in this respect is the world of things that surround modern humans in their everyday life. Almost all items of this world are created through chemistry, beginning with such items as film wrap, bags and packaging, and clothing, through to household appliances, computers, cars and airplanes.

But chemistry has not only opened and taught itself to create and use synthetic materials, but has enabled us to produce them cheaper and sometimes better than their natural counterparts. The world of man-made materials around us has become massive, and affordable to most people on the planet. Electronic equipment and cars would not have been so very widespread if they were only created fr om natural materials such as metals, wood, leather and natural rubber. Synthetic materials, that are used to substitute natural ones, enable us to conserve our natural resources. In addition, synthetic materials are often lighter than their natural analogues and their use, for example, in the manufacture of motor vehicles allows a reduction in fuel consumption and in air pollution by exhaust gases.

Artificial materials have, in some ways, surpassed their natural analogues in terms of the quality characteristics, while also retaining the ability of being transformed into something else. When it comes to wooden furniture that is worn out, one can only throw it away or else burn it. On the other hand, plastic can be recycled and metals can be melted down.

Not only the world of things surrounding man, but his basic needs themselves have changed as a result of chemistry. Chemistry has been used to purify water from poisons and bacteria on an industrial scale. Chemistry has helped to feed humanity by developing cheap, synthetic fertilisers and effectively protecting plants from pests with artificial poisons that are safe for humans. Chemistry has managed to replace expensive wool and goose down with more accessible synthetic fabrics and insulation capable of protecting us from the cold. Chemistry has created new medications, has led to a better understanding of illnesses and promoted ways to deal with them. In other words, chemistry has created an additional protective layer around a person, which consists of objects, tools and opportunities to protect it from the dangers of the outside world, presenting us the gift of relative comfort and peace.

Modern chemistry is the most extensive discipline among all the natural sciences. In the most general understanding of chemistry, it is the science of materials, their properties and structure, the transformation of substances in the course of chemical reactions, as well as the fundamental laws that underlie such transformations. The main subject of chemistry includes elements and compounds, as well as the laws of chemical reactions. But since the whole world consists of matter and is built of molecules and atoms, the subject of chemistry is almost lim itless. This is namely why, with its development, chemistry has been able to answer most of people’s questions about the world in which we exist.

The most important feature of chemistry is its ability to create its own object of study. By discovering and synthesising new compounds and classes of compounds, chemistry immediately becomes immersed in the study of their properties and features, as well as their field of application.

Chemistry, as both a science and industry, is a key component of the ideology of sustainable development. This global worldview requires the efficient use of natural resources in order to satisfy the needs of the current generation of mankind and to ensure that future generations are also provided for. Mainly, we are referring to the refusal of the irrational use of natural resources, greater attention to the environment and to making the transition to renewable energy sources. The solution to all these problems lies entirely within the purview of chemical sciences and technologies.

In 2011, there will be many varied activities devoted to chemistry held around the world. One of the main objectives of such events is to make chemistry more popular, to introduce the idea of ​​this science’s importance in the public consciousness, not to mention the indispensability of its discoveries and achievements in the life of each and every person on earth. In addition, the IYC should attract young people’s attention, so that the sphere of science will eventually be replenished with new scientists and industry with new engineers. This should help ensure that the path of knowledge has not ceased and that human life can became more comfortable.