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Physical chemistry

Most people remember chemistry from their schooldays as largely incomprehensible, a subject that was fact-rich but understanding-poor, smelly, and so far removed from the real world of events and pleasures that there seemed little point, except for the most introverted, in coming to terms with its grubby concepts, spells, recipes, and rules. Peter Atkins wants to change all that. In this Very Short Introduction to Chemistry, he encourages us to look at chemistry anew, through a chemist's eyes, in order to understand its central concepts and to see how it contributes not only towards our material comfort, but also to human culture. Atkins shows how chemistry provides the infrastructure of our world, through the chemical industry, the fuels of heating, power generation, and transport, as well as the fabrics of our clothing and furnishings. By considering the remarkable achievements that chemistry has made, and examining its place between both physics and biology, Atkins presents a fascinating, clear, and rigorous exploration of the world of chemistry - its structure, core concepts, and exciting contributions to new cutting-edge technologies. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

A Textbook of Physical Chemistry: Edition 2

Arthur Adamson

A Textbook of Physical Chemistry, Second Edition serves as an introductory text to physical chemistry. Topics covered range from wave mechanics and chemical bonding to molecular spectroscopy and photochemistry; ideal and nonideal gases; the three laws of thermodynamics; thermochemistry; and solutions of nonelectrolytes. The kinetics of gas-phase reactions; colloids and macromolecules; and nuclear chemistry and radiochemistry are also discussed.
This edition is comprised of 22 chapters; the first of which introduces the reader to the behavior of ideal and nonideal gases, with particular emphasis on the van der Waals equation. The discussion then turns to the kinetic molecular theory of gases and the application of the Boltzmann principle to the treatment of molar polarization; dipole and magnetic moments; the phenomenology of light absorption; and classical and statistical thermodynamics. The chapters that follow focus on the traditional sequence of chemical and phase equilibria, electrochemistry, and chemical kinetics in gas phase and solution phase. This book also considers wave mechanics and its applications; molecular spectroscopy and photochemistry; and the excited state, and then concludes with an analysis of crystal structure, colloid and polymer chemistry, and radio and nuclear chemistry.
This reference material is intended primarily as an introductory text for students of physical chemistry.

Modern Quantum Chemistry: Introduction to Advanced Electronic Structure Theory

Attila Szabo

The aim of this graduate-level textbook is to present and explain, at other than a superficial level, modem ab initio approaches to the calculation of the electronic structure and properties of molecules. The first three chapters contain introductory material culminating in a thorough discussion of the Hartree-Fock approximation.The remaining four chapters describe a variety of more sophisticated approaches, which improve upon this approximation.
Among the highlights of the seven chapters are (1) a review of the mathematics (mostly matrix algebra) required for the rest of the book, (2) an introduction to the basic techniques, ideas, and notations of quantum chemistry, (3) a thorough discussion of the Hartree-Fock approximation, (4) a treatment of configuration interaction (Cl) and approaches incorporating electron correlation, (5) a description of the independent electron pair approximation and a variety of more sophisticated approaches that incorporate coupling between pairs, (6) a consideration of the perturbative approach to the calculation of the correlation energy of many-electron systems and (7) a brief introduction to the use of the one-particle many-body Green's function in quantum chemistry.
Over 150 exercises, designed to help the reader acquire a working knowledge of the material, are embedded in the text. The book is largely self-contained and requires no prerequisite other than a solid undergraduate physical chemistry course; however, some exposure to quantum chemistry will enhance the student's appreciation of the material. Clear and well-written, this text is ideal for the second semester of a two-semester course in quantum chemistry, or for a special topics course.

The Chemical Equilibrium of Gaseous Systems

R. Holub

It is the purpose of this book to present a concise and sufficiently detailed de scription of the present state and possibilities of calculating chemical equilibria of gas mixtures. It is based on a book by one of the authors, published in Czech by the Publishing House Academia in Prague. The rapid development of the topic during the two years since publication of the Czech edition has made it necessary to revise practically all the sections in order to bring them up to the present level of know ledge. One reason for writing this book was the practical requirement of contemporary industry, where a rational utilization of equilibrium composition calculations may provide valuable information concerning processes under study in all stages of their implementation. A second reason was the need of a text-book for studying this part of chemical thermodynamics in the scope as taught at the Institute of Chemical Technology, Prague. These two basic motives determine the overall structure of the book, as well as the proportions and arrangement of the chapters. The book includes fundamental thermodynamic concepts as well as the mathematical apparatus needed to solve the problems involved, care being taken that the discussion should always l!!ad to a practical procedure of performing equilibrium calculations in gas-phase systems of any degree of complexity whatever. Knowledge of chemical thermodynamics on the level of a fundamental university course is assumed.

Group Theory and Chemistry

David M. Bishop

Group theoretical principles are an integral part of modern chemistry. Not only do they help account for a wide variety of chemical phenomena, they simplify quantum chemical calculations. Indeed, knowledge of their application to chemical problems is essential for students of chemistry. This complete, self-contained study, written for advanced undergraduate-level and graduate-level chemistry students, clearly and concisely introduces the subject of group theory and demonstrates its application to chemical problems.
To assist chemistry students with the mathematics involved, Professor Bishop has included the relevant mathematics in some detail in appendixes to each chapter. The book can then be read either as an introduction, dealing with general concepts (ignoring the appendixes), or a fairly comprehensive description of the subject (including the appendixes). In any case, the author assures students that "the mathematics involved in actually applying, as opposed to deriving, group theoretical formulae is quite trivial. It involves little more than adding and multiplying."

The Conservation of Orbital Symmetry

R. B. Woodward

The Conservation of Orbital Symmetry examines the principle of conservation of orbital symmetry and its use. The central content of the principle was that reactions occur readily when there is congruence between orbital symmetry characteristics of reactants and products, and only with difficulty when that congruence does not obtain—or to put it more succinctly, orbital symmetry is conserved in concerted reaction. This principle is expected to endure, whatever the language in which it may be couched, or whatever greater precision may be developed in its application and extension.
The book opens with a review of the elementary aspects of the molecular orbital theory of bonding. This is followed by separate chapters on correlation diagrams, the conservation of orbital symmetry, theory of electrocyclic reactions, theory of cycloadditions and cycloreversions, and theory of sigmatropic reactions. Subsequent chapters deal with group transfers and eliminations; secondary conformational effects in concerted cycloaddition reactions; and generalized selection rules for pericyclic reactions.

Physical Chemistry from a Different Angle: Introducing Chemical Equilibrium, Kinetics and Electrochemistry by Numerous Experiments

Georg Job

Learning the basics of physical chemistry with a unique, innovative approach. Georg Job and Regina Rueffler introduce readers to an almost intuitive understanding of the two fundamental concepts, chemical potential and entropy. Avoiding complex mathematics, these concepts are illustrated with the help of numerous demonstration experiments. Using these concepts, the subjects of chemical equilibria, kinetics and electrochemistry are presented at an undergraduate level. The basic quantities and equations necessary for the qualitative and quantitative description of chemical transformations are introduced by using everyday experiences and particularly more than one hundred illustrative experiments, many presented online as videos. These are in turn supplemented by nearly 400 figures, and by learning objectives for each chapter. From a review of the German edition: “This book is the most revolutionary textbook on physical chemistry that has been published in the last few decades.”

An Introduction to Statistical Thermodynamics

Book 1

"A large number of exercises of a broad range of difficulty make this book even more useful…a good addition to the literature on thermodynamics at the undergraduate level." — Philosophical Magazine
Although written on an introductory level, this wide-ranging text provides extensive coverage of topics of current interest in equilibrium statistical mechanics. Indeed, certain traditional topics are given somewhat condensed treatment to allow room for a survey of more recent advances.
The book is divided into four major sections. Part I deals with the principles of quantum statistical mechanics and includes discussions of energy levels, states and eigenfunctions, degeneracy and other topics. Part II examines systems composed of independent molecules or of other independent subsystems. Topics range from ideal monatomic gas and monatomic crystals to polyatomic gas and configuration of polymer molecules and rubber elasticity. An examination of systems of interacting molecules comprises the nine chapters in Part Ill, reviewing such subjects as lattice statistics, imperfect gases and dilute liquid solutions. Part IV covers quantum statistics and includes sections on Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein statistics, photon gas and free-volume theories of quantum liquids.
Each chapter includes problems varying in difficulty — ranging from simple numerical exercises to small-scale "research" propositions. In addition, supplementary reading lists for each chapter invite students to pursue the subject at a more advanced level. Readers are assumed to have studied thermodynamics, calculus, elementary differential equations and elementary quantum mechanics.
Because of the flexibility of the chapter arrangements, this book especially lends itself to use in a one-or two-semester graduate course in chemistry, a one-semester senior or graduate course in physics or an introductory course in statistical mechanics.

The Periodic Kingdom: A Journey Into The Land Of The Chemical Elements

PW Atkins

Come on a journey into the heart of matter -- and enjoy the process! -- as a brilliant scientist and entertaining tour guide takes you on a fascinating voyage through the Periodic Kingdom, the world of the elements. The periodic table, your map for this trip, is the most important concept in chemistry. It hangs in classrooms and labs throughout the world, providing support for students, suggesting new avenues of research for professionals, succinctly organizing the whole of chemistry. The one hundred or so elements listed in the table make up everything in the universe, from microscopic organisms to distant planets. Just how does the periodic table help us make sense of the world around us? Using vivid imagery, ingenious analogies, and liberal doses of humor P. W. Atkins answers this question. He shows us that the Periodic Kingdom is a systematic place. Detailing the geography, history and governing institutions of this imaginary landscape, he demonstrates how physical similarities can point to deeper affinities, and how the location of an element can be used to predict its properties. Here's an opportunity to discover a rich kingdom of the imagination kingdom of which our own world is a manifestation.