The History of Stereochemistry: Progress and Prospects
摘要
In the fifty years since the centennial celebration of tetrahedral carbonTetrahedral carbon atom, we have learned a great deal about the emergence of stereochemistry after J. H. van’t Hoff and J. A. Le Bel first proposed the tetrahedral carbon atom. My own book on the subject was published in 2003. Since the appearance of that book there has been additional work on van’t Hoff, Louis PasteurPasteur, Louis, Emil FischerFischer, Emil and Albert LadenburgLadenburg, Albert, and other research on modeling and the general development of the visual language of chemistry. In this essay, I will recount the major arguments from my book, and reflect on the newer literature and its significance for understanding of the history of stereochemistry.