Topology and topological are often misapplied in chemistry to mean "shape", perhaps through confusion with topography and topographical respectively . Formally, chemical topology finds its roots in mathematical topology , the study of the properties of networks, surfaces, and objects under topologically allowed transformations. One of the first applications of topology in chemistry was to enumerate the available isomers of higher order alkanes (CnH2n+2) and there is continued interest in how molecular topology can be used to digitize and analyze chemical structures and their properties . Conversely, the proposal by Lord Kelvin that atoms were knotted vortices in the aether motivated Tait to develop a systematic categorization of knots .