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 & 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.
Our products are derived from the work of Dr Mark R. Leach:
In Mark's words:
Some people collect stamps.
I collect chemical entities and study their structure, interactions and reactions.
I use a MySQL relational database called The Chemical Thesaurus Reaction Chemistry Database, or ChemThes – available 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 many others.
Using software tools – including spreadsheets, relational databases and the Spartan molecular modelling package – I take a combinatorial and systems approach to exploring the reaction chemistry space close to the periodic table of the elements.In the Chemogenesis Web Book 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 five 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.
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 new science 'chemogenesis', as it deals with the emergence of mechanism and chemical reactivity.
The Chemogenesis Webbook is a completely new chemistry text.
- For the first time chemical structure & reactivity is presented as a linear narrative, rather than as a collection of tenuously connected factoids.
- As the author, 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 & Addition Synthlets; mini-applications written in MySQL/PHP/Java script that make predictions about chemical structure & reactivity.
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.
Read more in a 2006 interview with Mark Leach in Reactive Reports.
Project Timeline:
1980 |
B.Sc. Chemistry, Loughborough University | ||||||||
1984 |
Ph.D. Organic/organometallic [Pd & Li] chemistry, University of Salford | ||||||||
1985 |
Question:
"How can chemistry be computerized?" The zen answer: Mu. You are asking the wrong question: "What is chemistry?" |
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1986
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June The 8th
Theory: Independent congeneric series
[08/06/1986 4:30pm Larkhall Rise, London]
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1987-1989 |
Write/draw out reactions on 5"x3" file cards & sort 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 |
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1989-1999 |
Move the mapping of chemistry data from spreadsheets
to a relational database |
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1996 |
Publication: The Chemical Thesaurus 1.0, Helix Express RDMS |
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1999 Brighton |
Launch
of the meta-synthesis company: www.meta-synthesis.com 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 |
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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 The Chemical Thesaurus: v2, v3 & v4 |
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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 Jan 2010 March 2010 March 2010 March 2010 April 2010 May 2010 July 2010 Sept 2011 Dec 2011 Jan 2012 March 2012 June 2013 Sept 2013 Dec 2014 Dec 2016 Jan 2019 Feb 2019 Sept 2019 April 2020 Aug 2020 Feb 2021 April 2021 June 2021 |
Chemogenesis Web Book Uploaded to the Web 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 Glade League: Update YouTube Video: The Bohr Atom and Chemical Theory YouTube Video: The Truncated Tetrahedron Chem-Drills: Major Update & Redesign Thermochemistry Build-A-Reaction Synthlet LAA County Records Database Update Database of Periodic Tables with .htaccess redirects Ginette's Orange Gate Journal website Electronegativity Is Basic Elemental Property Paper submitted 70 Metre League Electronegativity Is Basic Elemental Property Paper published 30 Second Elements (Ivy Press, Ed. E. Scerri). Chapter by MRL Set of 4 Lewis Acid/Base Videos uploaded to YouTube Orange Gate Journal (book by Ginette Leach) published Mac Ruff Sketchbooks are uploaded to the web Update all websites to PHP 7.2 Update Google Adsense code/Revamp Design LAA Website moves to SquareSpace Major Update to Chemogenesis Webbook, CSS etc. [Covid-19 Lockdown] Update ChemThes structure icons Chemogenesis in 700 Seconds YouTube Video The Periodic Table: Is it Perfect, is it Fractured or is it Broken? YouTube Video Merch Store |
Many thanks to Athif Mohammed and Hamza Jafree who helped with development in 2004 and Luke Jordan in 2010.
Our domains include:
www.meta-synthesis.com
www.chemogenesis.com
www.chemthes.com
www.chemistry-drills.com
www.small-tournament-systems.co.uk
www.orangegatejournal.co.uk
[www.treekangaroo.co.uk]
www.70MLeague.com
macruffsketchbooks.org
© 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 R. Leach 1999 –
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Bug, typo or grammatical error reports about this page,please contact Mark R. Leach, the author, using mark@meta-synthesis.com