The molecule is central to structural chemistry; while the reaction holds a similar position for chemical dynamics. The trap for any history of the molecule is to swell into a history of chemistry. True, there is considerable overlap. But there is all the more need for focus that the molecule has just risen again to the apex of chemistry. The advent of molecular computers is imminent, some believe. Single molecule chemistry has become a research boulevard. ‘Vizualizing’ individual molecules is a related hype-producing topic. Duplicating by synthesis molecules of nature, however formidable, is now routine.
A scientist and a writer