Posted: Feb 27, 2010 5:53 am
Goldenmane wrote:I, obviously, am not a chemist, so take this with however much salt you may wish: organic/inorganic is a distinction which has now passed its use-by date, and only serves to confuse people on issues just like the one being discussed here.
Pass the salt. The term "organic chemistry" is a misnomer rather than an obsolete term. It originates from a time when only living organisms were thought to be able to produce carbon-based molecules. "Carbon chemistry" is a more accurate term and is used by some chemists. We do need it as a specialized field of study so the distinction has not passed a use-by date.