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for serious, though... i've recently been curious about pigment chemistry since i've been painting more.
for example "payne's gray" is a mix of amorphous carbon (lamp black - traditionally soot) and complex sodium alumino-silicate containing sulphur (aka french ultramarine) ... i realized i could get better result by buying the individual paints and mixing them on the canvas than with pre-mixed paints.
the same is true of "yellow ochre" - cheap versions of this color typically contain multiple iron oxides and are cut with titanium oxide. i never really thought it made much difference until i did a side be side comparison, but paints containing a single, more-highly refined iron oxide have noticably more vibrant color and are typically mixed into a cleaner, smoother linseed oil. and in the yellow to white range, where the yellow from the linseed oil starts to compete with the pigments, substituting a safflower oil (clearer but more expensive) can make a huge difference.
and if you want to talk photo-sensetive chemistry... silver print/c-type prints/tmax b&w/c-41 color process/ammonia based blueprints or sepiatone process/.... well yr gonna have to come back when i have more time.
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