Features
- Cover Type: Hard Cover with 195 pages
- Published by: Wiley-VCH
- Edition: 1st Edition March 26, 2007
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 3527317732
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-3527317738
-
Book Dimensions:
9.6 x 7.2 x 0.6 inches
- Weighs: 1.2 pounds
Product Description
This textbook does away with the classic, unimaginative approach and comes straight to the point with a bare minimum of mathematics—emphasizing the understanding of concepts rather than presenting endless strings of formulae. It nonetheless covers all important aspects of computational chemistry, such as
- vector space theory
- quantum mechanics
- approximation methods
- theoretical models
- and computational methods
Throughout the chapters, mathematics are differentiated by necessity for understanding - fundamental formulae, and all the others. All formulae are explained step by step without omission, but the non-vital ones are marked and can be skipped by those who do not relish complex mathematics.
The reader will find the text a lucid and innovative introduction to theoretical and computational chemistry, with food for thought given at the end of each chapter in the shape of several questions that help develop understanding of the concepts.
What the reader will not find in this book are condescending sentences such as, 'From (formula A) and (formula M) it is obvious that (formula Z).'
Back Cover Copy
This textbook does away with the classic, unimaginative approach and comes straight to the point with a bare minimum of mathematics -- emphasizing the understanding of concepts rather than presenting endless strings of formulae. It nonetheless covers all important aspects of computational chemistry, such as
- vector space theory
- quantum mechanics
- approximation methods
- theoretical models
- and computational methods
Throughout the chapters, mathematics are differentiated by necessity for understanding - fundamental formulae, and all the others. The former are explained step by step without omission, while the latter are given in the appendix for those readers who wish to delve into more complex mathematics.
The reader will find the text a lucid and innovative introduction to theoretical and computational chemistry, with food for thought given at the end of each chapter in the shape of several questions that help develop understanding of the concepts.
What the reader will not find in this book are condescending sentences such as, "From (formula A) and (formula M) it is obvious that (formula Z)?"
Reader ReviewsWhile the stated goal of a treatment of theoretical and computational chemistry without irrelevant mathematical details is admirable, this book falls far short of its ambitious goals. The thinness of the book, rather than evidence of concise exposition, leaves much to be desired in its selection of what mathematical details are omitted and what is left in. It is far too simplistic to the point of misleading, Even many of the pictures, while certainly colorful, are often banal and unproductive (Figure 4.1 is a prime example of a complete waste of ink). The book is unfortunately also rife with glaring mistakes. One particular egregious example is the use of the term 'molecular dynamics' wherever 'molecular mechanics' is meant, resulting in incorrect conflation of these concepts. Poor notation which fails to distinguish between states as kets vs. their position-space representations gets the authors into trouble, especially when writing expressions involving gradients, or worse, using kets in their exposition of molecular mechanics! Another fundamental error is the explicit use of a time operator when discussing energy-time uncertainty, which is wrong since energy-time uncertainty does *not* follow from the usual operator commutator relationships such as the one used to demonstrate position-momentum uncertainty (as explained in A. Peres's book and many others). In conclusion, save your money and get another book. It is too full of errors, frivolous details and misleading 'derivations' to be worth serious attention.
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