Understanding Physical Chemistry

by Ben-amotz, Dor

• ISBN13: 9781118298152
• ISBN10: 1118298152
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2013-05-06
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc

Summary

Understanding Physical Chemistry takes an innovative approach to teaching this fundamentally important subject, by stressing core ideas such as the entropic forces that drive all chemical processes and the quantum states that dictate the structures and colors of atoms and molecules. This elegant and streamlined textbook (of under 400 pages) aims to instill a deep understanding of physical chemistry by focusing exclusively on those ideas that are deemed to be either too important or too interesting to exclude. These core ideas are demystified by explaining where they come from, why they make sense, and how they may be applied to understanding topics ranging from molecular spectroscopy and chemical reactivity to biological self-assembly and liquid computer simulation strategies. Another unique feature of this groundbreaking textbook is the insight it provides into the scientific discovery process by highlighting the personal perspectives and conceptual struggles of people such as Gibbs, Einstein, and Schrödinger, who pioneered this interesting and practically important field.

Table of Contents

1 The Basic Ideas 11

1.1 Things to Keep in Mind 11

1.2 Why is Energy so Important? 15

1.3 Quantization is Everywhere 23

1.4 Thermal Energies and Populations 34

1.5 Classical Energy Hyper-Spheres 47

1.6 Homework Problems 57

2 Introduction to Chemical Thermodynamics 65

2.1 What is Thermodynamics Good For? 65

2.2 The Laws of Thermodynamics 69

2.3 Important Ideal Gas Examples 76

2.4 Homework Problems 93

3 Axiomatic Foundations of Thermodynamics 101

3.1 Fundamental Equations and Postulates 101

3.2 Temperature and Thermal Equilibrium 112

3.3 Chemical and Phase Equilibria 115

3.4 Euler and Gibbs-Duhem Relations 124

3.5 Transformed Potential Functions (A, H, G etc.) 127

3.6 Other Sorts of Thermodynamic Work 133

3.7 Homework Problems 136

4 Thermodynamic Calculation Strategies and Applications 143

4.1 Reduction of Thermodynamic Derivatives 144

4.2 Chemical Reaction Thermodynamics 153

4.3 Self-Assembly Thermodynamics 157

4.4 Spontaneous Consequences 162

4.5 Homework Problems 174

5 Non-Ideal Systems and Computer Simulations 181

5.1 Quantifying Non-Idealities 182

5.2 Simple Models of Molecular Fluids 184

5.3 Super-Molecule Statistical Mechanics 198

5.4 Mixed Points of View on Entropy 204

5.5 Kirkwood, Widom, and Jarzynski 210

5.6 Homework Problems 222

6 Introduction to Quantum Mechanics 229

6.1 The Dawn of Quantum Phenomena 229

6.2 The Rise of Wave Mechanics 230

6.3 Wave Equations and Eigenfunctions 232

6.4 Quantum Operators and Observables 238

6.5 Formal Postulates of Quantum Mechanics 256

6.6 Homework Problems 260

7 Simple Systems and Chemical Applications 265

7.1 Free, Con_ned, and Obstructed Particles 265

7.2 Quantum Harmonic Oscillators 279

7.3 Raising and Lowering Operators 285

7.4 Eigenvectors, Brackets and Matrices 287

7.5 Three Dimensional Systems 290

7.6 Homework Problems 300

8 Atoms and Spinning Particle-Waves 309

8.1 The Hydrogen Atom 309

8.2 Spin Angular Momentum 317

8.3 Fermi, Bose, and Pauli Exclusion 323

8.4 Multi-Electron Atoms and the Periodic Table 326

8.5 Homework Problems 334

9 Covalent Bonding and Optical Spectroscopy 339

9.1 Covalent Bond Formation 339

9.2 Molecular Bonding Made Easy 351

9.3 Time Dependent Processes 358

9.4 Optical Spectroscopy 362

9.5 Introduction to Ab Initio Methods 376

9.6 Homework Problems 383

10 Chemical and Photon-Molecule Reactions 391

10.1 Gas Phase Reaction Equilibria 391

10.2 Principles of Reaction Dynamics 403

10.3 Prediction of Reaction Rate Constants 407

10.4 Photon-Molecule Reactions 416

10.5 Homework Problems 425

Appendices 433

A Answers to Problems that Test Your Understanding 433

B Fundamental Constants and Mathematical Identities 439