91-407: Pac-Car II was developed as a student project at ETH Zürich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology). Based on a group of students and an experienced team leader, the goal was to build a vehicle that uses as little fuel as possible. By using hydrogen fuel-cell , developed at ETH/PSI ( Paul Scherrer Institute ), as power source, pure water is the car's only emission. Clean mobility completed therefore
182-440: A chemical equation . While in a non-nuclear chemical reaction the number and kind of atoms on both sides of the equation are equal, for a nuclear reaction this holds true only for the nuclear particles viz. protons and neutrons. The sequence of steps in which the reorganization of chemical bonds may be taking place in the course of a chemical reaction is called its mechanism . A chemical reaction can be envisioned to take place in
273-544: A "makerspace" and co-working space was established on the Hönggerberg campus, followed by a 6-story space near the ETH Zurich main building. Both locations function as a unified entity for the purpose of qualifications, staffing and decision making. While both makerspaces offer similar tools, the central one is significantly larger and also hosts a rentable auditorium, intended for pitching projects to faculty to gain funding, and
364-447: A bar. Both makerspaces include workspaces for wood- and metalworking, electronics fabrication, as well as an array of 3D-printers for students to use at a little over material cost. Both also feature a shop for students to buy items such as resistors in lower quantities than ordinarily, while passing down the savings of bulk purchases. The makerspaces are managed and staffed entirely by students, who are paid in shop credit. A new space
455-467: A chemical reaction is said to have occurred. A chemical reaction is therefore a concept related to the "reaction" of a substance when it comes in close contact with another, whether as a mixture or a solution ; exposure to some form of energy, or both. It results in some energy exchange between the constituents of the reaction as well as with the system environment, which may be designed vessels—often laboratory glassware . Chemical reactions can result in
546-470: A chemical transformation is the rearrangement of electrons in the chemical bonds between atoms. It can be symbolically depicted through a chemical equation , which usually involves atoms as subjects. The number of atoms on the left and the right in the equation for a chemical transformation is equal. (When the number of atoms on either side is unequal, the transformation is referred to as a nuclear reaction or radioactive decay .) The type of chemical reactions
637-412: A dense core called the atomic nucleus surrounded by a space occupied by an electron cloud . The nucleus is made up of positively charged protons and uncharged neutrons (together called nucleons ), while the electron cloud consists of negatively charged electrons which orbit the nucleus. In a neutral atom, the negatively charged electrons balance out the positive charge of the protons. The nucleus
728-535: A directed beam in a vacuum in a mass spectrometer . Charged polyatomic collections residing in solids (for example, common sulfate or nitrate ions) are generally not considered "molecules" in chemistry. Some molecules contain one or more unpaired electrons, creating radicals . Most radicals are comparatively reactive, but some, such as nitric oxide (NO) can be stable. The "inert" or noble gas elements ( helium , neon , argon , krypton , xenon and radon ) are composed of lone atoms as their smallest discrete unit, but
819-739: A large variety of committees such as the Student Sustainability Committee and the ETH Model United Nations . The associations regularly organize events with varying size and popularity. Events of the neighboring University of Zurich are well-attended by ETH Zurich students and vice versa. The largest career fair on campus is the Polymesse which is organized by students in the Forum und Contact committee of VSETH. Many student associations however organize career fairs specifically for
910-493: A new record of 0-100km/h in 0.956 seconds. [1] Swissloop is the ETH Zurich's newest competition team that is working on the development of a Hyperloop system. The annual Polyball is the most prestigious public event at ETH Zurich, with a long tradition since the 1880s. At the end of November, the Polyball welcomes around 10,000 dancers, music-lovers and partygoers in the extensively decorated main building of ETH Zurich. This
1001-411: A number of steps, each of which may have a different speed. Many reaction intermediates with variable stability can thus be envisaged during the course of a reaction. Reaction mechanisms are proposed to explain the kinetics and the relative product mix of a reaction. Many physical chemists specialize in exploring and proposing the mechanisms of various chemical reactions. Several empirical rules, like
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#17328693380351092-424: A particular substance per volume of solution , and is commonly reported in mol/ dm . In addition to the specific chemical properties that distinguish different chemical classifications, chemicals can exist in several phases. For the most part, the chemical classifications are independent of these bulk phase classifications; however, some more exotic phases are incompatible with certain chemical properties. A phase
1183-405: A pure chemical substance that has its unique set of chemical properties, that is, its potential to undergo a certain set of chemical reactions with other substances. However, this definition only works well for substances that are composed of molecules, which is not true of many substances (see below). Molecules are typically a set of atoms bound together by covalent bonds , such that the structure
1274-609: A substance may undergo and the energy changes that may accompany it are constrained by certain basic rules, known as chemical laws . Energy and entropy considerations are invariably important in almost all chemical studies. Chemical substances are classified in terms of their structure , phase, as well as their chemical compositions . They can be analyzed using the tools of chemical analysis , e.g. spectroscopy and chromatography . Scientists engaged in chemical research are known as chemists . Most chemists specialize in one or more sub-disciplines. Several concepts are essential for
1365-549: Is a federal institute (i.e., under direct administration by the Swiss government), whereas the University of Zurich is a cantonal institution. The decision for a new federal university was heavily disputed at the time; the liberals pressed for a "federal university", while the conservative forces wanted all universities to remain under cantonal control, worried that the liberals would gain more political power than they already had. In
1456-733: Is a founding member of the IDEA League and the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), and a member of the CESAER and League of European Research Universities (LERU) networks and the ENHANCE Alliance. ETH Zurich was founded on 7 February 1854 by the Swiss Confederation and began giving its first lectures on 16 October 1855 as a polytechnic institute ( eidgenössische polytechnische Schule ) at various sites throughout
1547-414: Is a pure substance which is composed of a single type of atom, characterized by its particular number of protons in the nuclei of its atoms, known as the atomic number and represented by the symbol Z . The mass number is the sum of the number of protons and neutrons in a nucleus. Although all the nuclei of all atoms belonging to one element will have the same atomic number, they may not necessarily have
1638-409: Is a set of states of a chemical system that have similar bulk structural properties, over a range of conditions, such as pressure or temperature . Physical properties, such as density and refractive index tend to fall within values characteristic of the phase. The phase of matter is defined by the phase transition , which is when energy put into or taken out of the system goes into rearranging
1729-582: Is a very useful means for predicting the feasibility of a reaction and determining the state of equilibrium of a chemical reaction, in chemical thermodynamics . A reaction is feasible only if the total change in the Gibbs free energy is negative, Δ G ≤ 0 {\displaystyle \Delta G\leq 0\,} ; if it is equal to zero the chemical reaction is said to be at equilibrium . There exist only limited possible states of energy for electrons, atoms and molecules. These are determined by
1820-422: Is also possible to define analogs in two-dimensional systems, which has received attention for its relevance to systems in biology . Atoms sticking together in molecules or crystals are said to be bonded with one another. A chemical bond may be visualized as the multipole balance between the positive charges in the nuclei and the negative charges oscillating about them. More than simple attraction and repulsion,
1911-439: Is also used to identify the composition of remote objects – like stars and distant galaxies – by analyzing their radiation spectra. The term chemical energy is often used to indicate the potential of a chemical substance to undergo a transformation through a chemical reaction or to transform other chemical substances. When a chemical substance is transformed as a result of its interaction with another substance or with energy,
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#17328693380352002-542: Is an institution for the education, training and development of career officers of the Swiss Armed Forces. The scientific part of this organization is attached to the ETH Zurich, while other parts such as training and an assessment center are under the direct management of the defense sector of the Swiss Federal Government . The Swiss National Supercomputing Center is an autonomous organizational unit of
2093-459: Is called a mixture. Examples of mixtures are air and alloys . The mole is a unit of measurement that denotes an amount of substance (also called chemical amount). One mole is defined to contain exactly 6.022 140 76 × 10 particles ( atoms , molecules , ions , or electrons ), where the number of particles per mole is known as the Avogadro constant . Molar concentration is the amount of
2184-588: Is certified by the Guinness Book of World Records . ETH Z%C3%BCrich ETH Zurich ( German : Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich ; English: Federal Institute of Technology Zurich ) is a public research university in Zurich , Switzerland . Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics . Like its sister institution EPFL , ETH Zurich
2275-523: Is composed of gaseous matter that has been completely ionized, usually through high temperature. A substance can often be classified as an acid or a base . There are several different theories which explain acid–base behavior. The simplest is Arrhenius theory , which states that acid is a substance that produces hydronium ions when it is dissolved in water, and a base is one that produces hydroxide ions when dissolved in water. According to Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory , acids are substances that donate
2366-472: Is dense; the mass of a nucleon is approximately 1,836 times that of an electron, yet the radius of an atom is about 10,000 times that of its nucleus. The atom is also the smallest entity that can be envisaged to retain the chemical properties of the element, such as electronegativity , ionization potential , preferred oxidation state (s), coordination number , and preferred types of bonds to form (e.g., metallic , ionic , covalent ). A chemical element
2457-464: Is electrically neutral and all valence electrons are paired with other electrons either in bonds or in lone pairs . Thus, molecules exist as electrically neutral units, unlike ions. When this rule is broken, giving the "molecule" a charge, the result is sometimes named a molecular ion or a polyatomic ion. However, the discrete and separate nature of the molecular concept usually requires that molecular ions be present only in well-separated form, such as
2548-417: Is expected to open on the Hönggerberg campus in 2024. ETH Zurich promotes technology and knowledge transfer through an entrepreneurial ecosystem to foster spin-offs and start-ups. As of 2022, 527 ETH Zurich spin-off companies had been created. ETH Zurich has three prominent competition teams that perform research in different popular fields and compete on the world stage. Most of these teams are based in
2639-537: Is more easily transferred between substances relative to light or other forms of electronic energy. For example, ultraviolet electromagnetic radiation is not transferred with as much efficacy from one substance to another as thermal or electrical energy. The existence of characteristic energy levels for different chemical substances is useful for their identification by the analysis of spectral lines . Different kinds of spectra are often used in chemical spectroscopy , e.g. IR , microwave , NMR , ESR , etc. Spectroscopy
2730-694: Is part of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain , a consortium of universities and research institutes under the Swiss Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research . As of 2023 , ETH Zurich enrolled 25,380 students from over 120 countries, of which 4,425 were pursuing doctoral degrees. Students, faculty, and researchers affiliated with ETH Zurich include 22 Nobel laureates , two Fields Medalists , three Pritzker Prize winners , and one Turing Award recipient , including Albert Einstein and John von Neumann . It
2821-591: Is the SOLA-Stafette (SOLA relay race) which consists of 14 sections over a total distance of 140 kilometers. More than 760 teams participated in the 2009 edition. The 40th edition of the SOLA, held on 4 May 2013, had 900 enrolled teams, of which 893 started and 876 were classified. In 2014 ASVZ celebrated their 75th anniversary. In 2017, ETH Zurich board approved the creation of a "Student Project House" to encourage student projects and foster innovation. A test consisting of
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2912-468: Is the crystal structure , or arrangement, of the atoms. Another phase commonly encountered in the study of chemistry is the aqueous phase, which is the state of substances dissolved in aqueous solution (that is, in water). Less familiar phases include plasmas , Bose–Einstein condensates and fermionic condensates and the paramagnetic and ferromagnetic phases of magnetic materials. While most familiar phases deal with three-dimensional systems, it
3003-458: Is the quantum mechanical model . Traditional chemistry starts with the study of elementary particles , atoms , molecules , substances , metals , crystals and other aggregates of matter . Matter can be studied in solid, liquid, gas and plasma states , in isolation or in combination. The interactions, reactions and transformations that are studied in chemistry are usually the result of interactions between atoms, leading to rearrangements of
3094-611: Is the biggest decorated ball in Europe, takes places annually in the main building of ETH and is organized by students and former students in the KOSTA foundation. It has been taking place since the 1880s. ETH Juniors is another student organization. It forms a bridge between industry and ETH Zurich and offers many services for students and companies alike as a student-led consulting group. The Academic Sports Association of Zurich ( ASVZ ) offers more than 120 sports. The biggest annual sports event
3185-572: Is the biggest decorated ball in Europe. The amicable rivalry between ETH Zurich and its neighbor, the University of Zurich, has been cultivated since 1951 (Uni-Poly). There has been an annual rowing match between teams from the two institutions on the river Limmat . There are many regular symposia and conferences at ETH Zurich, most notably the annual Wolfgang Pauli Lectures , in honor of former ETH Zurich Professor Wolfgang Pauli . Distinct lecturers, among them 24 Nobel laureates, have held lectures of
3276-502: Is the probability of a molecule to have energy greater than or equal to E at the given temperature T. This exponential dependence of a reaction rate on temperature is known as the Arrhenius equation . The activation energy necessary for a chemical reaction to occur can be in the form of heat, light, electricity or mechanical force in the form of ultrasound . A related concept free energy , which also incorporates entropy considerations,
3367-439: Is the tracing of isotopes and the detection of rare radionuclides with radiocarbon dating and the use of techniques such as Rutherford backscattering spectrometry or elastic recoil detection . The LIB is developing the next generation of AMS machines. It is also a laboratory available for users interested in applying the techniques of ion beam analysis. The ETH link is a free bus for students, affiliates and faculty linking
3458-500: Is to raise funds to support chosen institutes, projects, faculty and students at the ETH Zurich. It receives charitable donations from companies, foundations and private individuals. It can be compared with university endowments in the US. However, the ETH Zurich is a public university so that the funds of this foundation are much smaller than at comparable private universities. Examples of funded teaching and research are: The Military Academy
3549-517: Is useful in identifying periodic trends . A compound is a pure chemical substance composed of more than one element. The properties of a compound bear little similarity to those of its elements. The standard nomenclature of compounds is set by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). Organic compounds are named according to the organic nomenclature system. The names for inorganic compounds are created according to
3640-467: The Hönggerberg , a northern hill in the outskirts of the city. The last major expansion project of this new campus was completed in 2003. The Zentrum campus consists of various buildings and institutions throughout the city of Zurich. The Zentrum campus houses the: The main building of ETH Zurich was built from 1858 to 1864 under Gustav Zeuner ; the architect, however, was Gottfried Semper , who
3731-542: The Swiss Innovation Park near Dübendorf. The Swiss Academic Spaceflight Initiative (ARIS) (German: Akademische Raumfahrt Initiative Schweiz ) is an organisation at ETH Zurich that focuses on the development of space related technologies. The most prominent area of research is in the development of a sounding rocket that is flown yearly at the Spaceport America Cup . ARIS also dedicates its resources to
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3822-505: The Woodward–Hoffmann rules often come in handy while proposing a mechanism for a chemical reaction. According to the IUPAC gold book, a chemical reaction is "a process that results in the interconversion of chemical species." Accordingly, a chemical reaction may be an elementary reaction or a stepwise reaction . An additional caveat is made, in that this definition includes cases where
3913-515: The Zurich University of the Arts . It is dedicated to transdisciplinary research and acts as a think tank as well. Fellows are elected for five years to work together on a particular subject. For the period 2016–2020, the research focus is on digital societies . The ETH Zurich Foundation is a legal entity on its own (a Swiss non-profit foundation) and as such not part of the ETH Zurich. Its purpose
4004-455: The chemical bonds which hold atoms together. Such behaviors are studied in a chemistry laboratory . The chemistry laboratory stereotypically uses various forms of laboratory glassware . However glassware is not central to chemistry, and a great deal of experimental (as well as applied/industrial) chemistry is done without it. A chemical reaction is a transformation of some substances into one or more different substances. The basis of such
4095-487: The chemical industry . The word chemistry comes from a modification during the Renaissance of the word alchemy , which referred to an earlier set of practices that encompassed elements of chemistry, metallurgy , philosophy , astrology , astronomy , mysticism , and medicine . Alchemy is often associated with the quest to turn lead or other base metals into gold, though alchemists were also interested in many of
4186-469: The duet rule , and in this way they are reaching the electron configuration of the noble gas helium , which has two electrons in its outer shell. Similarly, theories from classical physics can be used to predict many ionic structures. With more complicated compounds, such as metal complexes , valence bond theory is less applicable and alternative approaches, such as the molecular orbital theory, are generally used. See diagram on electronic orbitals. In
4277-499: The inorganic nomenclature system. When a compound has more than one component, then they are divided into two classes, the electropositive and the electronegative components. In addition the Chemical Abstracts Service has devised a method to index chemical substances. In this scheme each chemical substance is identifiable by a number known as its CAS registry number . A molecule is the smallest indivisible portion of
4368-500: The interconversion of conformers is experimentally observable. Such detectable chemical reactions normally involve sets of molecular entities as indicated by this definition, but it is often conceptually convenient to use the term also for changes involving single molecular entities (i.e. 'microscopic chemical events'). An ion is a charged species, an atom or a molecule, that has lost or gained one or more electrons. When an atom loses an electron and thus has more protons than electrons,
4459-529: The intermolecular forces of a substance are such that the energy of the surroundings is not sufficient to overcome them, it occurs in a more ordered phase like liquid or solid as is the case with water (H 2 O); a liquid at room temperature because its molecules are bound by hydrogen bonds . Whereas hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) is a gas at room temperature and standard pressure, as its molecules are bound by weaker dipole–dipole interactions . The transfer of energy from one chemical substance to another depends on
4550-438: The size of energy quanta emitted from one substance. However, heat energy is often transferred more easily from almost any substance to another because the phonons responsible for vibrational and rotational energy levels in a substance have much less energy than photons invoked for the electronic energy transfer. Thus, because vibrational and rotational energy levels are more closely spaced than electronic energy levels, heat
4641-416: The 2024 THE World University Rankings by subject, it was the top Swiss university in all ranked subjects. In the 2023 ARWU Subject Ranking, the university was ranked within the top 10 worldwide in civil engineering, water resources, environmental engineering, automation, mathematics, earth sciences, and ecology. ETH Zurich has two campuses, namely Zentrum and Hönggerberg . The Zentrum campus grew around
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#17328693380354732-463: The 2025 QS Europe rankings. In the 2023 Nature Index of academic institutions, ETH Zurich ranked 20th worldwide and first in Switzerland. In the 2024 QS Word University Rankings by subject, ETH Zurich was ranked within the top 10 in the world in architecture, engineering and technology, and the natural sciences. It ranked first worldwide in the earth and marine sciences, geology, and geophysics. In
4823-664: The ETH Zurich. It is a national facility based in Lugano -Cornaredo, offering high-performance computing services for Swiss-based scientists. ChainSecurity is a spin-off founded by ETH professor Martin Vechev and the former ETH doctoral students Hubert Ritzdorf and Petar Tsankov. The company's overall goal is to make blockchain technologies more secure. To that end, it develops and operates automated scanning programs for auditing smart contracts . Providers of smart contracts can ask ChainSecurity to audit them and thus receive certification for
4914-500: The Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion model ( VSEPR ), and the concept of oxidation number can be used to explain molecular structure and composition. An ionic bond is formed when a metal loses one or more of its electrons, becoming a positively charged cation, and the electrons are then gained by the non-metal atom, becoming a negatively charged anion. The two oppositely charged ions attract one another, and
5005-452: The academic advancement of spaceflight and hosts projects ranging from the development of Hybrid rocket Engines to Payload research. The Academic Motorsports Association (German: Akademischer Motorsportverein Zürich ) is the ETH Zurich's equivalent of a Formula One team, that develops electric and driverless sports vehicles that compete at Formula Student . AMZ has proven to be one of
5096-491: The atom is a positively charged ion or cation . When an atom gains an electron and thus has more electrons than protons, the atom is a negatively charged ion or anion . Cations and anions can form a crystalline lattice of neutral salts , such as the Na and Cl ions forming sodium chloride , or NaCl. Examples of polyatomic ions that do not split up during acid–base reactions are hydroxide (OH ) and phosphate (PO 4 ). Plasma
5187-400: The autonomous driving category since its introduction in 2017 for three years, winning all the events the team attended with the autonomous car until FSG 2021. In 2015, and again since 2016, their car grimsel holds the official Guinness world record for fastest acceleration of an electric car, achieving 0–100 km/h in 1.513 seconds. In 2023, AMZ broke the previous world record again and has set
5278-460: The beginning, both universities were co-located in the buildings of the University of Zurich. From 1905 to 1908, under the presidency of Jérôme Franel , the course program of ETH Zurich was restructured to that of a real university and ETH Zurich was granted the right to award doctorates. In 1909, the first doctorates were awarded. In 1911, it was given its current name, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule . In 1924, another reorganization structured
5369-479: The city of Zurich. It was initially composed of six faculties: architecture, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, chemistry , forestry , and an integrated department for the fields of mathematics, natural sciences, literature, and social and political sciences . It is locally still known as Polytechnikum , or simply as Poly , derived from the original name eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , which translates to " federal polytechnic school ". ETH Zurich
5460-412: The context of chemistry, energy is an attribute of a substance as a consequence of its atomic , molecular or aggregate structure . Since a chemical transformation is accompanied by a change in one or more of these kinds of structures, it is invariably accompanied by an increase or decrease of energy of the substances involved. Some energy is transferred between the surroundings and the reactants of
5551-687: The educational and energy saving aspects of the project. In 2005 on June 26, the PAC-Car II set a new world record in fuel-economy of 5385 km/L gasoline equivalence during the Shell Eco-Marathon in Ladoux , France . During its third race over 20.6 km the car consumed approximately 1 g of Hydrogen driving at an average speed of 30 km/h (roughly 18.6 mph). This corresponds to 0.0186 L/100 km (15,200 mpg ‑imp ; 12,600 mpg ‑US ) gasoline equivalence. This record
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#17328693380355642-429: The energies and distributions characterize the availability of an electron to bond to another atom. The chemical bond can be a covalent bond , an ionic bond , a hydrogen bond or just because of Van der Waals force . Each of these kinds of bonds is ascribed to some potential. These potentials create the interactions which hold atoms together in molecules or crystals . In many simple compounds, valence bond theory ,
5733-707: The formation of igneous rocks ( geology ), how atmospheric ozone is formed and how environmental pollutants are degraded ( ecology ), the properties of the soil on the Moon ( cosmochemistry ), how medications work ( pharmacology ), and how to collect DNA evidence at a crime scene ( forensics ). Chemistry has existed under various names since ancient times. It has evolved, and now chemistry encompasses various areas of specialisation, or subdisciplines, that continue to increase in number and interrelate to create further interdisciplinary fields of study. The applications of various fields of chemistry are used frequently for economic purposes in
5824-444: The formation or dissociation of molecules, that is, molecules breaking apart to form two or more molecules or rearrangement of atoms within or across molecules. Chemical reactions usually involve the making or breaking of chemical bonds. Oxidation, reduction , dissociation , acid–base neutralization and molecular rearrangement are some examples of common chemical reactions. A chemical reaction can be symbolically depicted through
5915-454: The highest accolades such as the Fields Medal , Pritzker Prize and Turing Award , among other distinctions in their respective fields. Academic achievements aside, ETH Zurich has been alma mater to many Olympic medalists and world champions. The Collegium Helveticum is an Institute for Advanced Study. It is jointly supported and operated by the ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich and
6006-445: The ionic bond is the electrostatic force of attraction between them. For example, sodium (Na), a metal, loses one electron to become an Na cation while chlorine (Cl), a non-metal, gains this electron to become Cl . The ions are held together due to electrostatic attraction, and that compound sodium chloride (NaCl), or common table salt, is formed. In a covalent bond, one or more pairs of valence electrons are shared by two atoms:
6097-407: The main building of the University of Zurich . The Hönggerberg campus is a more classical university campus, consisting mainly of university buildings and student accommodation. The Hönggerberg campus houses the: There is also an ASVZ sports centre which is accessible to all students and faculty, and includes a gym, beach volleyball court, football field, and martial-art rooms. In 2005,
6188-400: The main building, which was constructed 1858–1864 outside and right above the eastern border of the town, but which is nowadays located right in the heart of the city. As the town and university grew, ETH Zurich spread into the surrounding vineyards and later quarters. Because this geographic situation substantially hindered the expansion of ETH Zurich, a new campus was built from 1964 to 1976 on
6279-473: The main characteristics of a molecule is its geometry often called its structure . While the structure of diatomic, triatomic or tetra-atomic molecules may be trivial, (linear, angular pyramidal etc.) the structure of polyatomic molecules, that are constituted of more than six atoms (of several elements) can be crucial for its chemical nature. A chemical substance is a kind of matter with a definite composition and set of properties . A collection of substances
6370-789: The most recent of whom is Richard F. Heck , awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2010. Albert Einstein is perhaps its most famous alumnus. ETH Zurich is ranked 7th worldwide (first in Switzerland) in the QS World University Rankings 2025, 11th worldwide (first in Switzerland) in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024, and 20th worldwide in the Academic Ranking of World Universities 2023. ETH Zurich ranked 1st in Europe in
6461-649: The most successful teams in the Formula Student history, with in total 13 overall victories (as by September 2021) at Formula Student Events. Highlight was the double victory at the Formula Student Germany (FSG) in the Electric as well as the Driverless Category (autonomous driving car). Furthermore, AMZ was leader of the Formula Student world ranking in 2013 – 2015, 2017 & 2018. The team also dominated
6552-403: The nature of chemical bonds in chemical compounds . In the scope of its subject, chemistry occupies an intermediate position between physics and biology . It is sometimes called the central science because it provides a foundation for understanding both basic and applied scientific disciplines at a fundamental level. For example, chemistry explains aspects of plant growth ( botany ),
6643-419: The other isolated chemical elements consist of either molecules or networks of atoms bonded to each other in some way. Identifiable molecules compose familiar substances such as water, air, and many organic compounds like alcohol, sugar, gasoline, and the various pharmaceuticals . However, not all substances or chemical compounds consist of discrete molecules, and indeed most of the solid substances that make up
6734-615: The questions of modern chemistry. The modern word alchemy in turn is derived from the Arabic word al-kīmīā ( الكیمیاء ). This may have Egyptian origins since al-kīmīā is derived from the Ancient Greek χημία , which is in turn derived from the word Kemet , which is the ancient name of Egypt in the Egyptian language. Alternately, al-kīmīā may derive from χημεία 'cast together'. The current model of atomic structure
6825-473: The reaction absorbs heat from the surroundings. Chemical reactions are invariably not possible unless the reactants surmount an energy barrier known as the activation energy . The speed of a chemical reaction (at given temperature T) is related to the activation energy E, by the Boltzmann's population factor e − E / k T {\displaystyle e^{-E/kT}} – that
6916-433: The reaction in the form of heat or light ; thus the products of a reaction may have more or less energy than the reactants. A reaction is said to be exergonic if the final state is lower on the energy scale than the initial state; in the case of endergonic reactions the situation is the reverse. A reaction is said to be exothermic if the reaction releases heat to the surroundings; in the case of endothermic reactions ,
7007-544: The resulting electrically neutral group of bonded atoms is termed a molecule . Atoms will share valence electrons in such a way as to create a noble gas electron configuration (eight electrons in their outermost shell) for each atom. Atoms that tend to combine in such a way that they each have eight electrons in their valence shell are said to follow the octet rule . However, some elements like hydrogen and lithium need only two electrons in their outermost shell to attain this stable configuration; these atoms are said to follow
7098-403: The rules of quantum mechanics , which require quantization of energy of a bound system. The atoms/molecules in a higher energy state are said to be excited. The molecules/atoms of substance in an excited energy state are often much more reactive; that is, more amenable to chemical reactions. The phase of a substance is invariably determined by its energy and the energy of its surroundings. When
7189-474: The same mass number; atoms of an element which have different mass numbers are known as isotopes . For example, all atoms with 6 protons in their nuclei are atoms of the chemical element carbon , but atoms of carbon may have mass numbers of 12 or 13. The standard presentation of the chemical elements is in the periodic table , which orders elements by atomic number. The periodic table is arranged in groups , or columns, and periods , or rows. The periodic table
7280-459: The security of their contracts. Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter . It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and compounds made of atoms , molecules and ions : their composition, structure, properties, behavior and the changes they undergo during reactions with other substances . Chemistry also addresses
7371-641: The solid crust, mantle, and core of the Earth are chemical compounds without molecules. These other types of substances, such as ionic compounds and network solids , are organized in such a way as to lack the existence of identifiable molecules per se . Instead, these substances are discussed in terms of formula units or unit cells as the smallest repeating structure within the substance. Examples of such substances are mineral salts (such as table salt ), solids like carbon and diamond, metals, and familiar silica and silicate minerals such as quartz and granite. One of
7462-695: The structure of the system, instead of changing the bulk conditions. Sometimes the distinction between phases can be continuous instead of having a discrete boundary' in this case the matter is considered to be in a supercritical state. When three states meet based on the conditions, it is known as a triple point and since this is invariant, it is a convenient way to define a set of conditions. The most familiar examples of phases are solids , liquids , and gases . Many substances exhibit multiple solid phases. For example, there are three phases of solid iron (alpha, gamma, and delta) that vary based on temperature and pressure. A principal difference between solid phases
7553-528: The student's nationality. Both merit and need based scholarships are also available. The Excellence Scholarship & Opportunity Programme (ESOP) is a merit scholarship program for master students with excellent grades in their undergraduate program. ETH Zurich has well over 100 student associations . Most notable is the VSETH ( Verband der Studierenden an der ETH ) which forms the umbrella organization of all field of study specific student associations and comprises
7644-404: The students in their departments with companies related to their field of study. The VSETH is also the official representation of the student body towards the school and has been working with ETH on various projects with the aim of improving the students' experience at ETH. The representation towards the various departments is handled by the respective student associations. The Polyball , which
7735-421: The study of chemistry; some of them are: In chemistry, matter is defined as anything that has rest mass and volume (it takes up space) and is made up of particles . The particles that make up matter have rest mass as well – not all particles have rest mass, such as the photon . Matter can be a pure chemical substance or a mixture of substances. The atom is the basic unit of chemistry. It consists of
7826-476: The two campuses. During the school week, the bus runs 3 times an hour, and takes around 15 minutes. In 2020 a new, fully electric, eLink was introduced. Since 2018, an electric bike sharing system between the two campuses is also available, with yearly subscriptions subsidised by the university. There are rental stations on both campuses. Being a public university, the heavily subsidized (by Swiss federal tax) tuition fees are CHF 730 per semester, regardless of
7917-449: The university in 12 departments. However, it now has 16 departments. ETH Zurich, the EPFL, and four associated research institutes form the " ETH Domain " with the aim of collaborating on scientific projects. Historically, ETH Zurich has achieved its reputation particularly in the fields of chemistry , mathematics and physics . There are 32 Nobel laureates who are associated with ETH Zurich,
8008-408: The various fields of natural sciences at this conference since 1962. ETH Zurich has produced and attracted many famous scientists in its short history, including Albert Einstein and John von Neumann . More than twenty Nobel laureates have either studied at ETH Zurich or were awarded the Nobel Prize for their work achieved at ETH Zurich. Other alumni include scientists who were distinguished with
8099-499: The work of Andrea Palladio and Donato Bramante . During the construction of the University of Zurich, the south wing of the building was allocated to the University until its own new main building was constructed (1912–1914). At about the same time, Semper's ETH Zurich building was enlarged and received its cupola . The main building stands directly across the street from the University Hospital of Zurich and, right alongside
8190-692: The year of ETH Zurich's 150th anniversary, an extensive project called "Science City" for the Hönggerberg Campus was started with the goal to transform the campus into an attractive district based on the principle of sustainability. The ETH Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics (LIB) is a physics laboratory located in Science City. It specializes in accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and the use of ion beam based techniques with applications in archeology , earth sciences , life sciences , material sciences and fundamental physics . An example of such application
8281-505: Was a professor of architecture at ETH Zurich at the time and one of the most important architectural writers and theorists of the age. Semper worked in a neoclassical style that was unique to him; and the namesake and architect of the Semperoper in Dresden. It emphasized bold and clear massings with a detailing, such as the rusticated ground level and giant order above, that derived in part from
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