From Chemical Philosophy to Theoretical Chemistry

From Chemical Philosophy to Theoretical Chemistry
Author: Mary Jo Nye
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 357
Release: 1994-03-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0520913566

How did chemistry and physics acquire their separate identities, and are they on their way to losing them again? Mary Jo Nye has written a graceful account of the historical demarcation of chemistry from physics and subsequent reconvergences of the two, from Lavoisier and Dalton in the late eighteenth century to Robinson, Ingold, and Pauling in the mid-twentieth century. Using the notion of a disciplinary "identity" analogous to ethnic or national identity, Nye develops a theory of the nature of disciplinary structure and change. She discusses the distinctive character of chemical language and theories and the role of national styles and traditions in building a scientific discipline. Anyone interested in the history of scientific thought will enjoy pondering with her the question of whether chemists of the mid-twentieth century suspected chemical explanation had been reduced to physical laws, just as Newtonian mechanical philosophers had envisioned in the eighteenth century.

Theory and Applications of Computational Chemistry

Theory and Applications of Computational Chemistry
Author: Clifford Dykstra
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 1336
Release: 2011-10-13
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0080456243

Computational chemistry is a means of applying theoretical ideas using computers and a set of techniques for investigating chemical problems within which common questions vary from molecular geometry to the physical properties of substances. Theory and Applications of Computational Chemistry: The First Forty Years is a collection of articles on the emergence of computational chemistry. It shows the enormous breadth of theoretical and computational chemistry today and establishes how theory and computation have become increasingly linked as methodologies and technologies have advanced. Written by the pioneers in the field, the book presents historical perspectives and insights into the subject, and addresses new and current methods, as well as problems and applications in theoretical and computational chemistry. Easy to read and packed with personal insights, technical and classical information, this book provides the perfect introduction for graduate students beginning research in this area. It also provides very readable and useful reviews for theoretical chemists.* Written by well-known leading experts * Combines history, personal accounts, and theory to explain much of the field of theoretical and compuational chemistry* Is the perfect introduction to the field

Pathways to Modern Chemical Physics

Pathways to Modern Chemical Physics
Author: Salvatore Califano
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2012-05-26
Genre: Science
ISBN: 364228180X

In this historical volume Salvatore Califano traces the developments of ideas and theories in physical and theoretical chemistry throughout the 20th century. This seldom-told narrative provides details of topics from thermodynamics to atomic structure, radioactivity and quantum chemistry. Califano’s expertise as a physical chemist allows him to judge the historical developments from the point of view of modern chemistry. This detailed and unique historical narrative is fascinating for chemists working in the fields of physical chemistry and is also a useful resource for science historians who will enjoy access to material not previously dealt with in a coherent way.

The Chemical Philosophy of Robert Boyle

The Chemical Philosophy of Robert Boyle
Author: Marina Paola Banchetti-Robino
Publisher:
Total Pages: 207
Release: 2020
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0197502504

The Chemical Philosophy of Robert Boyle examines the relationship between Robert Boyle's experimental work in chemistry and his commitment to mechanical philosophy.

The Philosophy of Chemistry

The Philosophy of Chemistry
Author: Jean-Pierre Llored
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Total Pages: 780
Release: 2014-09-26
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1443867942

This volume connects chemistry and philosophy in order to face questions raised by chemistry in our present world. The idea is first to develop a kind of philosophy of chemistry which is deeply rooted in the exploration of chemical activities. We thus work in close contact with chemists (technicians, engineers, researchers, and teachers). Following this line of reasoning, the first part of the book encourages current chemists to describe their workaday practices while insisting on the importance of attending to methodological, metrological, philosophical, and epistemological questions related to their activities. It deals with sustainable chemistry, chemical metrology, nanochemistry, and biochemistry, among other crucial topics. In doing so, those chemists invite historians and philosophers to provide ideas for future developments. In a nutshell, this part is a call for forthcoming collaborations focused on instruments and methods, that is on ways of doing chemistry. The second part of the book illustrates the multifarious ways to study chemistry and even proposes new approaches to doing so. Each approach is interesting and incomplete but the emergent whole is richer than any of its components. Analytical work needs socio-historical expertise as well as many other approaches in order to keep on investigating chemistry to greater and greater depth. This heterogeneity provides a wide set of methodological perspectives not only about current chemical practices but also about the ways to explore them philosophically. Each approach is a resource to study chemistry and to reflect upon what doing philosophy of science can mean. In the last part of the volume, philosophers and chemists propose new concepts or reshape older ones in order to think about chemistry. The act of conceptualization itself is queried as well as the relationships between concepts and chemical activities. Prefaced by Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, Roald Hoffmann, and by the President of the International Society for the Philosophy of Chemistry, Rom Harré, this volume is a plea for the emergence of a collective cleverness and aims to foster inventiveness.

Chemical Physics and Quantum Chemistry

Chemical Physics and Quantum Chemistry
Author:
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 350
Release: 2020-09-18
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0128197587

Advances in Quantum Chemistry presents surveys of current topics in this rapidly developing field one that has emerged at the cross section of the historically established areas of mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology. It features detailed reviews written by leading international researchers. In this volume the readers are presented with an exciting combination of themes. - Presents surveys of current topics in this rapidly-developing field that has emerged at the cross section of the historically established areas of mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology - Features detailed reviews written by leading international researchers - Topics include: New advances in Quantum Chemical Physics; Original theory and a contemporary overview of the field of Theoretical Chemical Physics; State-of-the-Art calculations in Theoretical Chemistry

Non-covalent Interactions

Non-covalent Interactions
Author: Pavel Hobza
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
Total Pages: 239
Release: 2010
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1847558534

Co-authored by an experimentalist (Klaus M3ller-Dethlefs ) and theoretician (Pavel Hobza), the aim of this book is to provide a general introduction into the science behind non-covalent interactions and molecular complexes using some important experimental and theoretical methods and approaches.

Philosophy of Chemistry

Philosophy of Chemistry
Author: Jaap Brakel
Publisher: Leuven University Press
Total Pages: 268
Release: 2000
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9789058670632

This book addresses themes in the newly emerging discipline of philosophy of chemistry, in particular issues in connection with discussions in general philosophy of science on natural kinds, reduction and ceteris paribus laws. The philosophical issue addressed in all chapters is the relation between, on the one hand, the manifest image (the daily practice or common-sense-life-form) and on the other the scientific image, both of which claim to be the final arbiter of "everything."With respect to chemistry, the question raised is this: Where does this branch of science fit in, with the manifest or scientific image? Most philosophers and chemists probably would reply unhesitatingly, the scientific image. The aim of this book is to raise doubts about that self-evidence. It is argued that chemistry is primarily the science of manifest substances, whereas "micro" or "submicro" scientific talk--though important, useful, and insightful--does not change what matters, namely the properties of manifest substances.These manifest substances, their properties and uses cannot be reduced to talk of molecules or solutions of the Schrödinger equation. If "submicroscopic" quantum mechanics were to be wrong, it would not affect all (or any) "microlevel" chemical knowledge of molecules. If molecular chemistry were to be wrong, it wouldn't disqualify knowledge of, say, water--not at the "macrolevel" (e.g. its viscosity at 50 C), nor at the pre- or protoscientific manifest level (e.g. ice is frozen water).

Manual For Theoretical Chemistry

Manual For Theoretical Chemistry
Author: Dmitry Matyushov
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 373
Release: 2020-12-23
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9811228914

This study guide aims at explaining theoretical concepts encountered by practitioners applying theory to molecular science. This is a collection of short chapters, a manual, attempting to walk the reader through two types of topics: (i) those that are usually covered by standard texts but are difficult to grasp and (ii) topics not usually covered, but are essential for successful theoretical research. The main focus is on the latter. The philosophy of this book is not to cover a complete theory, but instead to provide a set of simple study cases helping to illustrate main concepts. The focus is on simplicity. Each section is made deliberately short, to enable the reader to easily grasp the contents. Sections are collated in themed chapters, and the advantage is that each section can be studied separately, as an introduction to more in-depth studies. Topics covered are related to elasticity, electrostatics, molecular dynamics and molecular spectroscopy, which form the foundation for many presently active research areas such as molecular biophysics and soft matter physics. The notes provide a uniform approach to all these areas, helping the reader to grasp the basic concepts from a common set of theoretical tools.

Computational Chemistry

Computational Chemistry
Author: Errol G. Lewars
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 739
Release: 2016-09-20
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319309161

This is the third edition of the successful text-reference book that covers computational chemistry. It features changes to the presentation of key concepts and includes revised and new material with several expanded exercises at various levels such as 'harder questions' for those ready to be tested in greater depth - this aspect is absent from other textbooks in the field. Although introductory and assuming no prior knowledge of computational chemistry, it covers the essential aspects of the subject. There are several introductory textbooks on computational chemistry; this one is (as in its previous editions) a unique textbook in the field with copious exercises (and questions) and solutions with discussions. Noteworthy is the fact that it is the only book at the introductory level that shows in detail yet clearly how matrices are used in one important aspect of computational chemistry. It also serves as an essential guide for researchers, and as a reference book.