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About Meta-Synthesis


Founded in 1999 and based in the UK,
meta-synthesis is a scientific publishing house offering books, posters, databases, multimedia materials, web books, seminars and short courses that attempt to explain and demystify chemical reaction science by presenting an overview of the subject. We also provide consultancy services to education and industry, and the international archery community.

Our products are derived from the work of Dr Mark R. Leach:

In Mark's own words:

"Some people collect stamps. I collect chemical species and study their interactions & reactions.

"I use a MySQL relational database – called The Chemical Thesaurus Reaction Chemistry Database, available online at www.chemthes.com – to store, sort, classify and slice 'n' dice information about chemical entities and the interactions and reactions they undergo.

"Against this solid, data driven background, I have studied the ideas of Mendeleeve, Lewis, Pauling, Ingold, Hückel, Pearson, Jørgensen, Fukui, Klopman, Woodward & Hoffmann, Olah, Scerri and others...

"Using software tools – spreadsheets & relational databases – and taking a combinatorial and systems approach, I explore the reaction chemistry space close to the periodic table of the elements.

"I look at the main group binary compounds in terms of van Arkel-Ketelaar triangles & Laing tetrahedra of structure, bonding and material type. I use hydrogen probe experiments to find objects & patterns in reaction chemistry space, including: congeneric arrays, the five reaction chemistries, the Lewis acid/base interaction matrix and the mechanism matrix. At the same time, I explore 'Chemistry, The Whole Thing' in terms of complexity and the nature of structural theory.

"I seem to be filling part of the scientific story between the periodic table and the established disciplines of organic and inorganic chemistry, an area that is poorly covered by traditional texts. I call this science "chemogenesis", as it deals with the emergence of mechanism and chemical reactivity.

"Please realize that the Chemogenesis Webbook is a completely new chemistry text. For the first time reaction chemical structure & reactivity is presented as a linear narrative, rather than as a collection of tenuously connected factoids. Indeed, I suggest that the chemogenesis web book is the chemistry textbook unmuddled.

"The Chemogenesis Webbook is also a new type of textbook in that it is dynamic. The ChemThes reaction chemistry database engine is used to drive interactive web pages such as the Binary Material, Thermochemistry, Redox Chemistry & Addition Synthlets, mini-applications written in MySQL/PHP/Java script that make predictions about chemical structure & reactivity.

"Indeed, at all times the chemogenesis analysis is backed by the rigour and beauty of the relational schema that lies behind The Chemical Thesaurus reaction chemistry database."

Mark R Leach Ph.D.

Read more in a (2006) interview with Mark Leach in Reactive Reports.


meta-synthesis: The Timeline
1980
B.Sc. Chemistry, Loughborough University
1984
Ph.D. Organic/organometallic chemistry, University of Salford
1985
Question: "How can chemistry be computerised?"
The zen answer: Mu. You are asking the wrong question. What is chemistry?
1886
Larkhall Rise
London

June The 8th Theory: Independent congeneric series
H3C
H2N
HO
 F
H3N:
H2O:
HF:
 Ne:

1987-1989
Analysis of chemical reactions in terms of congeneric series.
Study theory & philosophy of chemistry.
Heavy use of spreadsheets.
Discovery of the Lewis acid/base interaction matrix.

1989-1999
The PNG Decade

Move from spreadsheets to mapping chem data with a relational database.
Extensive use of ab initio chemistry software.
Separate ideas about chemistry from chemistry data.
All reactions are changes in phase space, and changes in phase space can be mapped to an elegant RDMS schema.
Map p
rocesses that can be expressed as a chemical equation of the type:
       A   →   B
       X   +   Y   →   Z

       etc.
Enter reaction chemistry data from all branches of chemistry.
Develop software synthlets utilising reaction chemistry data.

1996

The Chemical Thesaurus 1.0, Helix Express RDMS: Publication.

1999
Brighton
Launch of the meta-synthesis company.
Publication of the Lewis Acid/Base Reaction Chemistry book. ISBN 0-9536960-0-6
Publication of the Patterns in Reaction Chemistry poster.
Publication of the The Chemical Thesaurus 1.5.
2000-2003
Salford
Compile the chemogenesis narrative: Understand how chemical structure and reactivity emerge from the periodic table and inevitably produce the Lewis acid/base interaction matrix.
Publication of Chemical Thesaurus: v2, v3 & v4.
Move to the Web
Dec 2003
Feb 2004
May 2004
Aug 2004
Aug 2004
Sep 2004
Oct 2004
Oct 2004
Dec 2004
Jan 2005
Feb 2005
Apr 2005
Aug 2005
Sep 2005
Oct 2005
Dec 2005
Jan 2006
Feb 2006
May 2006
Jul 2006
Sep 2006
Oct 2006
Nov 2006
Nov 2006
Nov 2006
Dec 2006
Jan 2007
Jan 2007
Feb 2007
March 2007
May 2007
June 2007
Aug 2007
Nov 2007
March 2008
May 2008
May 2008
July 2008
Aug 2008
Oct 2008
Oct 2008
Oct 2008
Dec 2008
Feb 2009
Aug 2009
Aug 2009
Aug 2009

Chemogenesis Web Book
Chemogenesis: Update
Chemogenesis: Update
Chemogenesis: vA-K Triangle update
Chemogenesis: Laing Tetrahedron update
ChemThes: A-Level Chemistry
Chemogenesis: Periodic Tables update
Chemogenesis: Main Group Elements update
Chemogenesis: General updates
Chemogenesis: General updates
Chemogenesis: HSAB page update
Chemogenesis: General updates
Chemogenesis: Chemistry & Complexity
Chemogenesis: Classification of Matter
Chemogenesis: General updates
Chemogenesis in 500 seconds
Chemical Thesaurus ported to web
Chemogenesis: General updates
Chemistry Tutorials & Drills
Chemogenesis: General updates, Periodic Tables
Chemogenesis: General updates
ChemThes: Sorts & Finds redesign
Chemogenesis: Why Chemical Reactions Occur
Chemogenesis: Electronegativity update
Chemogenesis: VSEPR
Chemogenesis: Periodic Tables
Small Tournament Systems
Chemogenesis: Periodic Tables, basic & simple substance
Chemogenesis: Chapter order change
Chemogenesis: Binary Material Synthlet
Chemogenesis: Congeneric Array Database
Chemogenesis: Clickable Matrix & General Updates
Chemogenesis: Redox Chemistry Synthlet
Chem-Drills: Nomenclature Tester
ChemThes: Links to Wikipedia, NIST & Webelements
Chemogenesis: Thermochemistry Synthlet
Chemogenesis: The Truncated Tetrahedron
Chemogenesis: Database of Periodic Tables
Chemogenesis: Binary Compounds
Chemogenesis: Truncated Tetrahedron
ChemThes: Count Reactions
Chemogenesis: Five Sections to Web Book
Chemogenesis: Addition Synthlet
The Glade 70m Internet League
Chemogenesis: Lewis Acid/Base Matrix Database
Chemogenesis: Lewis Theory
Chemogenesis: General Updates


Many thanks to Athif Mohammed and Hamza Jafree who helped with development in 2004.


Our subdomains include:

www.meta-synthesis.com
www.meta-synthesis.co.uk
www.metasynthesis.com
www.meta-synthesis.co.uk
www.chemogenesis.com
www.chemthes.com
www.chemistry-drills.com
www.small-tournament-systems.co.uk
thegladeleague.com


© The ideas behind, and implementation of, the Chemogenesis web book, The Chemical Thesaurus reaction chemistry database and the Chemistry Tutorials & Drills web site are entirely Mark Leach's.

© Mark Leach 1996-2009 mrl@meta-synthesis.com