Quantum Chemistry

by Donald A. McQuarrie

A textbook for junior level Physical Chemistry courses or a senior level course in Quantum Chemistry. It assumes very little background in physics and mathematics. All necessary mathematical and physical concepts are introduced and developed in the text.

Genres: Chemistry, Science, Physics, Textbooks, Nonfiction, Quantum Mechanics, Reference

517 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[Scott Bembenek · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great undergrad/first year grad level book. In classic McQuarrie fashion the problems are well chosen and help develop both key concepts and physical intuition.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read through a couple of pages before the term began, and I must say this was a good read. I never finished because school started and I'm forced to read the Atkins version. I wish I didn't return it to my library. The downside is that it doesn't feel like an undergrad textbook. There are a lot of derivations and it's pretty math intensive, but then again, I liked that about this book. Great care is taken to introduce new concepts and variables in equations presented. They don't just pop out of nowhere, like what most book do. Also, it's outdated. I think it's been twenty years old since its last edition came out.

From what I've gathered for the little time I had it, it was an excellent book to have on hand.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book. For the professional scientist, this is the best primer I know of. For the generalist, do yourself a favor and stop reading what TV gurus, soothsayers and other assorted charlatans say about quantum mechanics, and read this for the real poop.

[Todd Decker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my quantum chemistry textbook at the university and I’ve recently returned to it for review. It is a remarkably straightforward presentation of quantum mechanics and quantum chemistry. It is rigorous and thorough but very well organized and easy to follow. Terms are explained clearly and the examples demonstrate the application of the basic principles very well. One reason I am impressed with this text is because of the disorganized and impenetrable presentation of identical material I have seen in other texts. Quantum mechanics is not simple but it need not be inaccessible. Once you have a basic understanding of the vocabulary and mathematical tools involved it’s actually not that difficult. But you need a good presentation, which is what this text provides.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I look back at texts like this from college and wonder why the prof did not simply follow the damn book. This is well-structured, has an appropriate sense of its own limits, and gives a lot of satisfying rationale behind the rules that are given without much justification in organic and general chemistry.

[caroline · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sucks. 1) skips all these steps to problems
2) WHY DOES IT USE FULL SENTENCES AS CHAPTER SUBHEADINGS 3) not good at explaining things

Im glad i poached it off of libgen instead of paying for this garbage.

[Gage Fowlkes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real page turner. Ole Don had me at “the energy levels of a particle in a box are quantized”, but when he reveals that the eigenfunctions of quantum mechanical operators are orthogonal- woah- like who even saw that coming???🤯🤯

[Nathan Dyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saved my life

[Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its okay

[Jeffrey Sung · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible. Like many McQuarrie books, it has a tendency to say things like "the proof of this statement is shown in problem 3-5" with problem 3-5 being "Prove [that statement]."

It's not even really a classic in quantum chemistry, unlike his Statistical Mechanics book.

[albin james · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book. I wish I had the right state of mind to appreciate its content and a learner's attitude towards the subject then. The professor also did a great job. Pick up this book!

[Nick Black]

Comes very highly recommended from someone I trust, hurrah.

[Joshua]

Far better description of Hartree-Fock theory and other topics than the equivalent chapters in McQuarrie & Simon's Physical Chemistry ("big red")

[Gustavo Navarro · Rating 4 out of 5]

nice