Essay Sample Content Preview:
Chemistry in Life
Author Name
University Name
Introduction
Chemistry is a must part of our daily life. We find it in everything we do, like eating food, cleaning chemicals, breathing in the air, enjoying our sleep, working hard at the office, and dreaming of a bright and prosperous future. It’s safe to say that our body is itself made up of chemical compounds, which are a combination of small and large elements. Water, which constitutes more than 70 percent of our body, itself contains two gases (hydrogen and oxygen). The chemical properties of both hydrogen and oxygen are studied for a better understanding of how they work and what’s their role in our lives. Chemistry is technically the study of chemicals and matter, but I rather call it the study of changes. Let’s take an example; electrons always change their energy level, and molecules tend to change the location of their bonds depending on their job requirements. All these things happen at the cellular and intracellular level, and most of us don’t even know what’s going on in our bodies because not all of us have a background in chemistry or medical sciences.
Last year, in 2017, I got a chance to visit the United States with a couple of friends, where we decided to visit New York City and explore its museums and spend quality time together. It’s absolutely true that New York is an excellent and one of the most developed cities in the world. Every year, it receives thousands of tourists from across the globe who come here to see how tall the Statue of Liberty is and what type of shopping centers are present here. I must admit that New York is one of the most developed and populous cities of the United States. Its estimated population is 8,422,698, and the city has been distributed over a land area of 303 square miles. New York has been distributed as the financial, media and cultural capital, and thus it receives lots of tourists every month. Besides its major tourist attraction, this city is famous for its positive impact on fields like entertainment, technology, commerce, research, politics, sports, and education. It is home to the United Nations and a major center for international diplomacy. Prior to my flight to New York, I turned to the internet to see what types of tourist points are most famous and how chemistry is involved in them.
Empire State Building
Chemistry is involved in everything, and that’s evident from the monuments and places I explored during my stay in New York City. The first place in New York that I wanted to see was the Empire State Building. Imagine NY’s skyline with no towering spire. I am sure that would be next to impossible for you, but don’t worry the construction of the Empire State Building is done using solid steel and other compounds. Here, chemistry is gracefully involved because from the glass used to build its windows and doors to the steel used in the entire structure, chemistry has played a significant role. It took the engineers only eleven months to complete this building. The 1,354-foot-tall emblem has become one of the major attractions of the city, and it was originally built in 1931. During my visit, I paid special attention to the lobbies, which are beautified using particular stones and rocks, and the involvement of chemistry is visible here. I had impressed my pals with its tidbits while standing in the queue for the observation desk. Here I had liked to say that the observation desks are built with pure steel to ensure their strength and power. Years ago, more than 13 tenants lost their lives when a plane crashed into its 79th floor during heavy fog. Since then, the entire building has been rebuilt to give it a more powerful and amazing look as well as ensure the safety and protection of people from such uncertain circumstances.
Brooklyn Bridge is also made from steel, rocks and other similar things that clearly indicate that the strength of this bridge is purely dependent on chemistry. Brooklyn Bridge is a marvelous and one of the unique tourist attractions of New York. It is a great example of architectural work and innovation. The bridge was inaugurated in 1883 and was a feat of chemistry and engineering. First of all, the structure to cross East River was built using simple and least powerful materials. Later on, the bridge was not only lengthened but also its power was enhanced using steel. The bridge also has steel-wire cables, which were presented by its original designer and engineer John A. Roebling. I got a chance to observe that this bridge receives hundreds to thousands of locals and tourists every year, who love viewing the spectacular and marvelous lower Manhattan area and other landmarks of the city. The Statue of Liberty and Governors Island are situated close to this bridge, so it was easy for me to reach those places too and explore how chemistry is involved in them.
Central Park
At a point, I felt tired and wanted to sit and relax on the soft grass. One of my friends told me that Central Park was somewhere close to this bridge, so we decided to head to that park. This spectacular park is famous for Gotham’s love affair and has been the prior choice of filmmakers when it comes to filming several shots, songs, or anything related to entertainment. Urban visionaries Calvert Vaux Frederick Law Olmsted have gracefully balanced the elements like pastoral (lawns of the Sheep Meadow) and formal (tree-lined Mall) as well as picturesque (densely wooded path of the Ramble). These items may not have the involvement of chemistry, but the park itself contains various chemicals and minerals that are hidden beneath its soil. I got a chance to dig a portion of the ground and felt that some natural resources might be present here. This 842-acre plot draws thousands of tourists to its skyscraper-bordered vistas in summer, spring, winter, and fall. Picnickers and sunbathers always make it their destination in the summer season, because the overall environment is very peaceful and relaxing. It’s a great place for ice-skaters during the winter season and for bird-lovers in fall and spring. As I had gone there during the spring season, I could see that the flowers had blossomed fully, birds were chirping on the trees, some yellow leaves had fallen on the ground, and the entire place looked like a Hollywood movie’s scene.
I was so amazed and impressed with this park that I decided to spend time till late night. At 10 p.m., when I was sitting on a bench along with a few friends, I looked up and found plenty of stars in the sky. Some of them were dim while the others were vibrant and bright. Again, it made me realize that those distant planets and stars had much to do with chemistry. I mean the compounds and chemicals present on their surface, and the water and mountains that made up most of their parts were clearly indicating that we cannot escape from the world of chemistry. I must admit that Central Park is a perfect and idyllic place for beloved cultural and traditional events like the New York Philharmonic’s performance and Shakespeare in the Park. At 12 am., we decided to return hotel and take some rest. When we reached our hotel, we were served with the delicious meal and soft drinks. In my soft drink, I found a lot of carbon dioxide, and that made me feel energetic and refreshed. Here I would like to say that carbon dioxide is always studied in chemistry for its properties and applications. It looks like wherever we do, and whatever we do, we can never get out of the world of chemistry.
The Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is perhaps the most important and major tourist attraction of New York City. It receives millions of tourists every month, and the government generates lots of revenues from the tourism industry. Statue of Liberty is also known as Lady Liberty, and a climb to its top part is what I needed. From the top, it looks like the lady is taking rest while holding a big candle in her hand. The statue of liberty is made up of granite, copper, zinc, and other similar materials. We know that it is one of the most significant attractions of the city, the statue’s construction took months, and its latest structure is the result of chemistry and engineering. Various compounds and elements have been used in its construction. For instance, the statue is kept straight with the help of pure steel, collected from different parts of the world. There is a museum in the Liberty Island, which is worth to see because it consists of different ceramic items and paintings making us realize how important chemistry is in our lives.
One World Observatory
One World Observatory occupies over 102 floors and is one of the tallest buildings in the Western Hemisphere. On its top, an observation deck is a place which can be reached in a minute through a series of visually immersive 'Sky Pod' elevators. I got to know that those elevators are built with materials collected from different mountains of the country and abroad. For instance, steel is used alongside cement and ceramics to make the elevators look more beautiful and to ensure their strength. During my interactive tour experience, I walked through some bedrocks on which the building is entirely built prior to entering the elevators. I must say it is a perfect example of chemistry and makes me realize that without those elements and compounds, it wouldn’t have been possible for the builders to come up with such a wonderful and incredible design and infrastructure. During my time there, I could see that some of the elevators were beautified with LEDs. Light is spread everywhere through these LEDs, and that’s also a part of chemistry because chemistry students have to study the properties and main characteristics of light as part of their subject. On top of that, the videos concluding the screen lift up to show a stunning and marvelous 360-degree view of the Manhattan skyline. All this makes me realize that life would never be possible without chemistry and engineering. From the large-sized windows to those appealing elevators with LEDs inside them, everything depicted applications of chemistry in one way or the other.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum...