The science called chemistry

The history of chemistry may be said to begin with the distinction of chemistry from alchemy by Robert Boyle in his work The Sceptical Chymist (1661). Both alchemy and chemistry are concerned with the nature of matter and its transformations but, in contrast with alchemists, chemists apply the scientific method. The history of chemistry is intertwined with the history of thermodynamics, especially through the work of Willard Gibbs.

Chemistry

a. The science of the composition, structure, properties, and reactions of matter, especially of atomic and molecular systems.

b. The composition, structure, properties, and reactions of a substance.

c. The elements of a complex entity and their dynamic interrelation: "Now that they had a leader, a restless chemistry possessed the group" (John Updike).