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Author: Subject: Why did you get into Chemistry?
BromicAcid
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[*] posted on 13-7-2013 at 19:31


For the bling.



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neptunium
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[*] posted on 13-7-2013 at 19:39


astronomy got me hooked on chemistry stars, fusion, elements, spectra...you know typical geek stuff!



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Gooferking Science
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[*] posted on 25-11-2013 at 19:48


I was in the future city competition in fifth grade, and me and my team were researching renewable energy. I stumbled across HHO or hydrogen power, and I became fascinated with how water could be split apart with just electricity. I quickly created a home lab, and it all just went from there.



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WGTR
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[*] posted on 25-11-2013 at 19:49


The babes, man. Everyone knows that college chemistry is fulla hot chicks. And they're
powerless against the wiles of a man who knows his chemistry. After marrying a really good
one, we won the lottery, and now we spend our days traveling around the world teaching
people how to smelt steel in their own backyards.

OK, just kidding; but the truth is relatively boring. Like everyone else it seems, I learned
that you could make a flammable gas out of water and an endless supply of nine volt
batteries. I had test tubes full of hydrogen. I had glass jars full of hydrogen. I had balloons
full of hydrogen. I burned cups full of hydrogen on the front porch. I built a portable
hydrogen-making setup so that I could make hydrogen at school, too. I made hydrogen
with friends. I burned the hair off my hands. I burned the hair off my friend's hands. It was great
fun.

Where the heck did all the time go?!?
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BlackDragon2712
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[*] posted on 25-11-2013 at 20:08


I think it was when I was like 6 or 8 years old. my dad bought me a set of very, very basic chemistry equipment to mess around. it consisted in like 5 test tubes, 2 beakers and 1 erlenmeyer (if I remember xd). as basic as it was, was enough to make mi imagination fly! though I broke my entire glassware ahahaha I retake chemistry back when I was 13 years old, and at 15 I began doing organic chemistry and went into more "serious" chemistry, well at least I got my lab built by then.

Now I think about it, if it hadn't been because of my dad, I would have never had the love I have nowadays for chemistry. I mean, chemistry at school is necessary but it cannot be compared with when we are doing stuff at the lab because we like to do it!

[Edited on 06/11/2013 by BlackDragon2712]
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blargish
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[*] posted on 26-11-2013 at 18:13


I'm not entirely sure how my love for chemistry came about... I have always been fascinated by the processes that define our world and I had always been interested in geology and physics. I guess I would consider geology as another hobby of mine. I was first exposed to chemistry via the internet and Youtube, and it just kinda grew exponentially on me from there. Chemistry was always the right fit for me! Well, at least it's helping me a ton in high school chemistry as I have already know (almost) everything that is in our curriculum :D

I have only been pursuing chemistry as a definite hobby for two years, which is pretty short compared to most on the forum. Previously, I had another hobby that I followed religiously, and that was twistypuzzles (Rubik's Cubes and the like). I still have a giant collection sitting in my room of over 100 puzzles, but that hobby has taken a backseat to chemistry in the past few years.

I guess what really triggered my fascination with chemistry was the thought of chemical synthesis. When I first started out, just the thought of combining two different things and creating another thing was awesome to me, and I still get a great feeling whenever I perform a synthesis. I know pyrotechnics is what many people start with en route to their chemistry hobby, but I have only been interested in pyrotechnics for less than a year. Still, it's great having things go boom once in a while, hehehe.

I'm enjoying seeing all the other stories in this thread on how other members got into chemistry! This thread was a great idea
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Rich_Insane
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[*] posted on 27-11-2013 at 11:51


I was very (obsessively) interested with rocks and minerals as a kid, and that lead me to try to understand the chemical composition of rocks. Also, I loved to perform experiments with the chemistry set (I think it was the C-1000, not sure if they sell it anymore).

What really got me into the actual theory behind chemistry and organic synthesis was my interest in explosives and pyrotechnics.
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FlashDelirium
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[*] posted on 29-11-2013 at 21:46


To quote Albert Hofmann, "I made the decision to become a chemist for both mystical-philosophical reasons and for reasons of curiosity."

For the most part, I wander in and out of academic disciplines based upon zealous curiosity. Given chemistry being explanatorily powerful (i.e., "the central science") and also suited for hobbyists, I find it especially attractive now. I'm still in the larval stage, though.

[Edited on 11/30/2013 by FlashDelirium]




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Fenir
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[*] posted on 30-11-2013 at 09:30


I started with the production of hydrogen from water like many others. Next thing I know, I was spending all my mmoney on flasks, beakers, and the like.
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[*] posted on 30-11-2013 at 20:55


I myself started from the curiosity of my mother working at ORNL in Oak Ridge. She would always bring me interesting items, etc. One of my show and tells was a Ladlum gieger counter and a check source in the 3rd grade :D.

I still have a jar of rats on my desk from the Manhattan project era, and from the age of 6 I never looked back. My room was full of chemistry sets (you could actually buy real ones back then), glassware, burners and test-tubes. I was always dragged to the other "smart" kids of workers from the "plant" (as we call it here), some were even more eccentric that I am, which is a hard feat to manage :P

My official nickname at home is either "Mad Scientist" or more recently "Sheldon" since my In-Laws got into the Big Bang Theory show.... My wife complains constantly from smells from the lab (although she is so sensitive/picky she'll bitch if I open a jar of ether), and I try to get my step-son interested in science, but so far all he likes to do is explode gummy bears with chlorates etc,,, eh, he's just 9 ;)





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MrNyeTheSciGuy
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[*] posted on 2-12-2013 at 01:06
When I...


When I discovered the elements, and how they could be used for creation. It shocked me the power which dangles at the finger tips of a trained Chemist. The whole process of using reactions to reform molecules into new substances always felt very magical to me, and it still does today!
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