Chemistry for a better life

Chapter II
Why chemistry matters
Chemistry is the science of molecules: the basic building
blocks of matter. Chemists have shown that all the substances
around us, Earth and indeed the universe as a whole, are
composed of 92 building blocks or elements. 1 In fact, just
seven of these fundamental chemical elements are
responsible for more than 99% of the world around us.
In sharp contrast to other major science disciplines such
as physics, mathematics and biology, chemistry is the only
‘fundamental’ science that has a specific industry attached
to it.
The importance of the discipline of chemistry
Chemistry as a discipline has been and remains a significant
contributor to the wealth, prosperity and health of the human
species. Over the last 5,000 years, it is chemistry, more than
any other discipline, which has made our global civilisation
possible (Table 1).
The TV documentary series ‘The Ascent of Man’ 2 charted
the correlation in human prosperity through the chemical
discoveries that led to technological revolutions in our
past—from Stone Age, to Bronze Age to Iron Age and hence
to steel, plastics, petroleum, silicon, DNA and most recently
graphene.
Early civilisations learned how to extract simple metals and
to process them, which enabled military and eventually
economic superiority. Likewise the civilisations that
discovered gunpowder gained ascendancy in many areas
of the globe. Innovations such as the development of specific
cements, mortars and, later on, concrete, glass and plastic
allowed urbanisation on a massive scale and larger, longerlasting
buildings. The industrial revolution was enabled by
the rapid improvements in understanding combustion and
thermodynamics of fossil fuels and this led to global power
shifts to countries which were able to implement these
innovations on an industrial scale.
1 There are in addition some 15 artificial but unstable elements that
have been synthesised.
2 Jacob Bronowski, The Ascent of Man, BBC documentary series 1975
More than 70% of Australians live in urbanised environments.
Australia’s chemistry industry provides advanced energy saving
materials and directly supports skilled construction jobs across
our cities.
In the 21st century, chemistry will continue to define the
directions of technological change. For example chemical
research and development will contribute to energy efficient
LEDs, solar cells, electric vehicle batteries, water desalination
technology, biodiagnostics, advanced materials for durable
clothing, aerospace, defence, agriculture and health and
medicine.
The global chemicals industry
In 2014, the global chemicals industry contributed 4.9% of
global GDP. 3 When the 2006 RACI Chemistry business report
was released, the global chemical industry had revenue of
US$1.7 trillion. A decade later, the gross revenue is US$5.2 trillion. 4
That corresponds to US$800 for every man, woman and child
on the planet.
The largest market for chemical industry outputs is now
Asia—where the share of the global chemical industry
revenue grew from 40.9% to 54.2% over the same period.
3 Cefic Chemdata International – The European Chemical Industry Council
(2014) report
4 http://www.statista.com/statistics/302081/revenue-of-global-chemicalindustry/
Chapter II Why chemistry matters
THE DECADAL PLAN FOR AUSTRALIAN CHEMISTRY 2016–25 9