Chemically mundane: Water, the greatest chemical constituent of the human body.
Credit: iStockphoto
In case you're wondering, the (Collins Australian) Dictionary lists a chemical as "any substance used in, or resulting from, a reaction involving changes to atoms or molecules." Isn't that everything then?
"All matter is made up of atoms bonded together, so to say a something is chemical-free is to say it does not exist," said Mark Lynch a chemist at the Australian National University in Canberra and the secretary of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute.
Silly terminology
"Silly terminology like "chemical free" preys upon the misconception of the public that man-made substances are dangerous, while natural substances are harmless."
This is certainly not the case, as some of the most poisonous substances known to man are naturally derived. These include botulism toxin from a soil bacteria, digitalis toxin from foxgloves and wildly toxic aflatoxins from a fungus that grows on peanuts.
"Plants, bacteria and fungi defend themselves with an impressive arsenal of chemical weaponry; human chemists are mere amateurs when compared to what nature can do," he said.
It would seem that the RSC's money is safe then.
It's All Natural
This is a bit like "All natural foods" must be good for you. How about an oleander leaf salad with curare dressing?
Eat it then!
Let the people who worry eat this first then, its got the most poisonous substances ever known. Lets see the people who claim synthetic substances are dangerous eat this along with some nightshade berries on top of it. Eat it then and tell me how you felt if you survive.
Some obvious limits
It seems to me that by "material" they are limiting themselves to what we consider matter, thus invalidating things like magnetic bottles and the infamous sci-fi force fields. :)
Chemical-free
My God - it's chemical-free!