Understanding Physical Chemistry

摘要

I welcome every attempt to arouse interest and enthusiasm in physical chemistry (PC) with a good textbook, because unfortunately PC lands well down the list of favorite topics of chemistry students. The subject matter is apparently too dry or difficult, because it is heavy on mathematical formulas, and the relevance of PC to other areas of chemistry is often underestimated. Dor Ben-Amotz has set himself the goal of delivering new inspiration of the physical understanding of chemical phenomena. The choice of topics covered follows the personal interest of the author. This has for example the consequence that the fundamentals of kinetics are only fleetingly covered (Chapter 10) or that processes at interfaces (for example Marcus theory, heterogeneous catalysis) are not treated at all. The working principle and construction of a laser (for example population inversion, Einstein coefficients) are as lacking as important electrochemical processes (Debye-Hiickel theory, fuel cells). This surprising discrimination of subject matter is apparent in the brief table of contents.