[Quantum Mechanics for Chemists (Tutorial Chemistry Texts)] [By: Hayward, David O] [January, 1900]

Tutorial Chemistry Texts #14

by David O. Hayward

This book is designed to provide a basic understanding of the principles of quantum mechanics. It is assumed that the reader will have a qualitative understanding of the general features of atomic and molecular orbitals, probably from a course on chemical bonding (frequently given in the first year). The approach is rather different from that adopted in most books on QM, in that the Schr dinger wave equation is introduced at a fairly late stage, after students have become familiar with the application of de Broglie-type wavefunctions to free particles and particles in a box. Likewise, the Hamiltonian operator and the concept of eigenfunctions and eigenvalues are not introduced until the last two chapters of the book, where approximate solutions to the wave equation for many-electron atoms and molecules are discussed. In this way, students receive a gradual introduction to the basic concepts of quantum mechanics.

Paperback

First published October 31, 2001