The key difference between quantum biology and chemistry is that quantum biology is a new discipline in science that involves the application of quantum mechanics and theoretical chemistry to aspects of biology while chemistry is the science that studies the composition, structure and properties of matter.
Quantum biology and chemistry are two branches of science. Quantum biology is the application of quantum mechanics in biological processes. Chemistry deals with the properties, composition, and structure of substances and their transformations. Therefore, chemistry studies matter while quantum biology focuses on the biological processes that are quantum mechanical in nature.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Quantum Biology
3. What is Chemistry
4. Similarities Between Quantum Biology and Chemistry
5. Side by Side Comparison – Quantum Biology vs Chemistry in Tabular Form
6. Summary
What is Quantum Biology?
Quantum biology is a new discipline of science which involves the study of the application of quantum mechanics and theoretical chemistry to biological objects and problems. In other words, quantum biology is the application of quantum theory to aspects of biology.
Quantum biology emerged as a new science after the development of quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanics describes the properties of subatomic particles, atoms, molecules, molecular assemblies and possibly beyond. It operates at the nanometer and sub-nanometre scale, which is the basis of fundamental life processes that work on molecular levels and ultrafast time scale.
Many biological processes including photosynthesis, respiration, vision and enzyme catalysis convert energy into forms that are usable for chemical transformations. Those processes are quantum mechanical in nature since they involve chemical reactions such as light absorption, formation of excited electronic states, transfer of excitation energy, transfer of electrons and protons, etc.
What is Chemistry?
Chemistry is the science that studies the composition, structure and properties of matter; anything that has mass, volume and is made up of particles. It studies how and why substances combine or separate to form substances. It also looks at how substances interact with energy. Atom is the basic unit of chemistry. Therefore, chemistry is mainly concerned with the atomic and molecular structure of compounds and their changes via chemical reactions. Moreover, chemistry studies the use of natural substances and the creation of artificial ones. It also focuses on how atoms and molecules interact via chemical bonds in order to make new compounds. There are four types of chemical bonds by which molecules interact. They are covalent bonds, ionic bonds, hydrogen bonds and Van der Waals bonds.
There are five main branches of chemistry. They are analytical chemistry, physical chemistry, organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry and industrial chemistry along with biochemistry. Apart from those major fields, there are new fields in chemistry such as polymer, environmental, and medicinal chemistry, pesticide, forensic, and computational chemistry, etc.
What are the Similarities Between Quantum Biology and Chemistry?
- Quantum biology and chemistry are two scientific disciplines.
- Both involve compounds composed of atoms, molecules, and ions.
- Moreover, both involve the development of theoretical postulations and conceptions.
What is the Difference Between Quantum Biology and Chemistry?
Quantum biology is the study of applications of quantum mechanics and theoretical chemistry to biological objects and problems. On the other hand, chemistry is the study of composition, structure and properties of matter. So, this is the key difference between quantum biology and chemistry. Quantum biology is a field of biology while chemistry occupies an intermediate position between physics and biology.
Moreover, quantum biology is mainly concerned with biological processes that are quantum mechanical in nature. In contrast, chemistry is concerned with composition, structure and properties of matter; atom, elements, molecules, compounds, etc.
Below infographic summarizes the difference between quantum biology and chemistry.
Summary – Quantum Biology vs Chemistry
Quantum biology is the applications of quantum mechanics in biological problems. In contrast, chemistry is the study of the composition, structure and properties of matter. Both quantum biology and chemistry are two branches of science. Thus, this summarizes the difference between quantum biology and chemistry.
Reference:
1, Adriana, Marais, et al. “The Future of Quantum Biology.” Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 14 Nov. 2018, royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2018.0640.
2. Rocke, Alan J., and Melvyn C. Usselman. “Analytical Chemistry.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 23 Jan. 2020, Available here.
Image Courtesy:
1. “chemistry” By usehung (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr