Introduction to Molecular Thermodynamics

by Robert M. Hanson, Susan Green

"I wish I had learned thermodynamics this way " That's what the authors hear all the time from instructors using Introduction to Molecular Thermodynamics. Starting with just a few basic principles of probability and the distribution of energy, the book takes students (and faculty ) on an adventure into the inner workings of the molecular world like no other. Made to fit into a standard second-semester of a traditional first-year chemistry course, or as a supplement for more advanced learners, the book takes the reader from probability to Gibbs energy and beyond, following a logical step-by-step progression of ideas, each just a slight expansion of the previous. Filled with examples ranging from casinos to lasers, from the "high energy bonds" of ATP to endangered coral reefs, Introduction to Molecular Thermodynamics hits the mark for students and faculty alike who have an interest in understanding the world around them in molecular terms.

Genres: Physics

318 pages, Paperback

First published January 28, 2008

About the author

Robert M. Hanson is a Professor of Chemistry at St. Olaf College, in Northfield, Minnesota, USA, where he has been teaching since 1986. Trained as an organic chemist with Gilbert Stork at Columbia University, he shares a patent with 2001 Nobel Prize winner K.Barry Sharpless for the asymmetric epoxidation of allylic alcohols. His interest in thermodynamics goes back to early training at the California Institute of Technology, from which he got a B.S. degree in 1979. He spends his occasional moments of free time playing the violin in a community orchestra, piloting gliders and designing new Sudoku strategies.