Physical Chemistry 2. [antikvár]

Preface We have taken the opportunity to refresh both the content and presentation of this text while—as for all its editions—keeping it flexible to use, accessible to students, broad in scope, and authoritative. The bulk of textbooks is a perennial concern: we have sought to tighten the presentation in this edition. However, it should always be borne in mind that much of the bulk arises from the numerous pedagogical features that we include (such as Worked examples and the Data section), not necessarily from density of information. The most striking change in presentation is the use of colour. We have made every effort to use colour systematically and pedagogically, not gratuitously, seeing as a medium for making the text more attractive but using it to convey concepts and data more clearly. A second striking change is the division of this version of the text into t^vo parts, one focused on thermodynamics and kinetics and the other on quantum theory and spectroscopy. Certain chapters that are less widely used have been omitted from the two-volume version but may be found in the single-volume version. Volume 1 collects the more 'classical' aspects of physical chemistry. We have taken the opportunity to streamline the presentation of thermodynamics by combining several chapters from the previous edition, bearing in mind that some of the material will already have been covered in earlier courses. We no longer, for instance, make a distinction between 'concepts' and 'machinery', and as a result have provided a more compact presentation of thermodynamics with less artificial divisions between the approaches. Similarly, equilibrium electrochemistry now finds a home within the chapter on chemical equilibrium, where space has been made by reducing the discussion of acids and bases. This volume also contains the chapters on kinetics that form Part 3 of the previous version, with a number of significant changes. For instance, the description of electron transfer reactions is now a part of this sequence. Volume 2 collects together the parts of chemistry based on quantum mechanics, which means largely the foundations of quantum mechanics, atomic and molecular structure, and spectroscopy. In preparing this edition we have sought to bring into the discussion contemporary techniques of spectroscopy and approaches to computational chemistry. In recognition of the major role that physical chemistry plays in materials science, we have a short sequence of chapters on which deal respectively with hard and soft matter. Moreover, we have introduced concepts of nanoscience throughout much of this volume. We have discarded the Boxes of earUer editions. They have been replaced by more fully integrated and extensive Impact sections, which show how physical chemistr)' is applied to biology, materials, and the environment. By liberating these topics from their boxes, we believe they are more likely to be used and read; there are end-of-chapter problems on most of the material in these sections. In the preface to the 7th edition we wrote that there was vigorous discussion in the physical chemistry community about the choice of a 'quantum first' or a 'thermodynamics first' approach. That discussion continues. In response, we have paid particular attention to making the organization of the full text Hexible. We have also created these two volumes of the text: Volume 1: Thermodynamics and Kinetics, and Volume 2: Quantum Chemistry, Spectroscopy, and Statistical Thermodynamics. The strategic aim of this revision is to make it possible to work through the text, using one volume or two, in a variety of orders according to the preferences of the instructor.