Computational Chemistry: Find the Solution with Wolfram Technologies
The following is excepted from a blog post written by Bailey Long and was originally published on the Wolfram Blog. The original post can be viewed in full here.
From preparing food to nourish our bodies to finding cures for terminal illnesses, chemistry is a foundational part of our world. As a computational chemist, you may have a lot to learn to master this subject, but fueled by Wolfram’s collection of educational resources, elaborate simulation functions and research projects, you’ll be ready to tackle this exciting science head on.
Level 1 — Learn about Computational Chemistry
Wolfram|Alpha Example Queries
Wolfram|Alpha’s searchable database gives budding computational scientists the tools to find reliable information and calculations to support just about any field of work — including chemistry. Example queries for chemistry are available to instantly learn about different chemical properties, balance chemical equations, explore chemoinformatics and more. Struggling to remember chemical formulas? Wolfram|Alpha recognizes chemicals by name, formula or any other identifier.
Wolfram|Alpha Pro also offers step-by-step chemistry examples and solutions to help walk you through different chemistry problems and struggles. You can learn more about the different applications through the Wolfram|Alpha Chemistry Team’s collection of Step-by-Step Chemistry blogs:
- “Chemistry Step-by-Step Solutions: Chemical Reactions”
- “Chemical Solutions: Step-by-Step Chemistry Series”
- “Structure and Bonding: Step-by-Step Chemistry Series”
- “Quantum Chemistry: Step-by-Step Chemistry Series”
Wolfram Demonstrations Project
The Wolfram Demonstrations Project offers more than twelve thousand interactive Wolfram Language Demonstrations in varying fields, including over five hundred chemistry Demonstrations. Set unique conditions and watch experiments unfold from Demonstrations like the following.
Beer’s Law
By: Scott Berger, Rachael Holappa and Kaitlin Nguyen
A classic experiment brought straight to your computer screen, this Demonstration shows Beer’s law by measuring the concentration of a liquid using light waves. The Demonstration allows you to manipulate the wavelength and concentration to calculate absorbance and molar absorbance.
Element Density Comparisons
By: Theodore Gray
When it comes to learning about the elements, it can be difficult to keep track of the different characteristics. Gray’s Demonstration lets you compare and visualize the density of any two elements using bars to demonstrate their weight.
Build Your Own Atoms
By: S. M. Blinder
Blinder’s Demonstration will also give you the chance to become familiar with the elements and what makes them unique by manipulating the atomic number, mass number and number of electrons.
Wolfram System Modeler — High School Chemistry Library
Wolfram System Modeler is an interactive modeling lab that gives you the chance to run dynamic simulations for varying environments. The High School Chemistry library offers a series of labs to conduct chemistry experiments that will give you the experience and confidence to put your skills to practice with virtual demonstrations and calculations.
Wolfram U — Wolfram Notebooks for Teaching Chemistry
For those looking to teach about the basics of computational chemistry, be sure to check out Wolfram U’s course on Wolfram Notebooks for Teaching Chemistry. The hour-long video course features Jason Sonnenberg from the Wolfram|Alpha Chemistry Team, who discusses Wolfram chemistry applications, strategies and resources for meaningful interactive instruction. Sonnenberg’s experience in education and chemistry makes this the perfect resource for the Wolfram novice looking to integrate technology into the classroom.
Wolfram Function Repository
The Wolfram Function Repository offers an ever-expanding collection of Wolfram Language functions developed by both Wolfram teams and users. With over 2,500 functions available, there are plenty of chemistry tools to go around for the computational chemist.
The Repository’s chemistry selection includes search functions for the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) Common Chemistry database, basic essential chemistry conversions and and more.
Want to read Level 2? Check out the original post for even more chemistry resources!
