| Patclaus,
I didn't quite understand the last part of your post, but yes, physical chemistry is a HUGE field.
Chemistry isn't just a table of elements. It can be as mathematically rigorous as physics. Anyone doing electronic structure calculations can attest to this fact. The s, p, d orbitals you learn about in HS aren't just pretty pictures in intro textbooks; there is a whole mathematical basis (ignore the pun) for these wave functions that only about 100 people in the world truly grasp.
In the academic literature, hundreds of pchem papers are being published every week. There are several top journals (J. Phys. Chem A/B/C, J. Chem. Phys., Mol. Phys.) that deal with this area. In fact, the top physics journal Physical Review Letters is largely composed of pchem papers.
The real problem with this discussion is that we seem to think physics and chemistry are separated from each other. In fact, there is considerable overlap, and the question of which field is more useful really relies on which subarea of each field you want to explore. Everything these days is blurred.
A better categorization of the hard sciences IMHO would be 1. quantum mechanics, 2. general relativity, and 3. statistical mechanics. They are more distinct at the postulational level (fundamental assumptions are different). |