Chemistry in nature — Химия в природе

Is chemistry needed in nature? Of course, because nature, like our entire world, consists of it. In our case, oxygen will serve as the most vivid and clear example. This substance is of paramount importance in the life of all living organisms, because it is, first of all, one of the main components of air, although this is not its only role.

Breath. Few think about the fact that apart from the formation of carbon dioxide that we exhale, with each breath of air in our body a huge number of different compounds are formed, due to the influence of oxygen. In turn, these compounds become the basis for the synthesis of vitamins, amino acids, proteins, and fats.

Combustion is a process no less interesting, and it also occurs with the participation of oxygen. It is an oxidative reaction proceeding at a high rate. In this reaction, the original substance is transformed into a completely different substance, with different properties and composition. Burn the wood — you get ash.

Rotting is different from burning for the most part by the speed of the process, which is much lower here. During it occurs the interaction between oxygen and complex nitrogen-containing substances accompanied by microorganisms.

Chemical processes involving oxygen can be listed for a long time. I propose this to summarize it with a brief list of what would have happened if suddenly our planet would remain without oxygen for at least a few seconds:

- all water will turn into steam, as hydrogen will simply go to the gaseous state;
— the crust will begin to crack;
— the daytime sky will darken;
— all concrete structures, etc., will be ruined.

However, such useful and irreplaceable oxygen may well kill us, like all other aerobic organisms, if suddenly the concentration of this substance in the air increases several times. And if a forest fire happens at this moment, it will not die away even if it rains.