Dialectics and synergetics in chemistry. Periodic Table and oscillating reactions

Abstract

This work utilizes examples from chemical sciences to present fundamentals of dialectics and synergetics. The laws of dialectics remain appropriate at the level of atoms, at the level of molecules, at the level of the reactions, and at the level of ideas. The law of the unity and conflict of opposites is seen, for instance, in the relationships between the ionization energy and electron affinity of atoms, between the forward and back reactions, as well as in the differentiation and integration between the various areas of chemistry. The law of the passage of quantitative changes into qualitative changes describes the transformation properties of the compounds when the number and arrangement of atoms in the molecule undergoes changes. According to this law, the development is accompanied by breaks and jumps. This paper suggests equations for the description of these relationships. The law of the negation of the negation is manifested in the Periodic Law, in the evolution of ideas about the mutual transformation of chemical elements, in the development the concept of triads of elements, etc. Small changes in the conventional Periodic Table on the basis of previously rejected versions allow reflecting secondary and additional periodicity. Synergetics, similarly to dialectics, is dedicated to the studies of general laws of evolution. Synergetics includes highly advanced and specified ideas of dialectics. The cornerstone of synergetics is the principles of self-organization and nonlinearity. Mathematical development of these concepts was substantially facilitated by considering oscillating chemical reactions as an example. These reactions are quite complex and therefore provide adequate models for self-organization. Oscillations may exist only upon execution of specific thermodynamic, mathematical, and chemical conditions. Mechanisms of several oscillatory reactions (Belousov–Zhabotinskii, Bray–Liebhavsky, oxidative carbonylation of acetylenes) are briefly reviewed. The construction of novel biomimetic or smart materials based on oscillating reactions is described.