Atoms in Molecules A Quantum Theory

by Bader, Richard F. W.

• ISBN13: 9780198551683
• ISBN10: 0198551681
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1991-02-07
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The molecular structure hypothesis--the proposition that a molecule is a collection of atoms linked by a network of bonds--provides the principal means of ordering and classifying observations in chemistry. It is not, however, directly related to the physics which govern the motions of atomic nuclei and electrons. This important book develops a theory establishing that molecular structure--with properties predicted and defined by the laws of quantum mechanics--can be explained in terms of underlying physics. As a result, the classification based upon the concept of atoms in molecules is freed from its empirical constraints and the full predictive power of quantum mechanics can be incorporated into the resulting theory--a theory of atoms in molecules. Eminently accessible and readable, this unique book will interest all physical scientists who use the concepts of atoms, bonds, and structure in the interpretation of their work.

Table of Contents

List of symbols

Atoms in chemistry

Atoms and the topology of the charge desnity

Molecular structure and its change

Mathematical models of structural change

The quantum atom

The mechanics of an atom in a molecule

Chemical models and the Laplacian of the charge density

The action principle for a quantunm subsystem

Appendix - Tables of data

Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.