Mapping The Cliffs and Plains of Chemistry Space
Chemistry space refers to the combinatorial and configurational space spanned by all possible molecules (i.e. those combination of atoms allowed by the rules of valence in energetically stable spatial arrangements). It is estimated that the total number of possible small organic molecules populating chemistry space could exceed 1060 — a number that exceeds the total number of atoms in the known universe, and is vastly greater than the number of molecules that have actually been isolated or synthesized.
