Reviews (6)

An excellent overview
Good:
This book gives an excellent overview of molecular simulation techniques starting with quantum mechanics ab initio type calculations and going up through molecular dynamics and polymer simulation. It gives a good step up from your standard physical chemistry text (such as Atkins or Chang) to being able to read the literature on modern molecular modelling techniques.

Bad:
The treatment of many methods is somewhat superficial.
The book was first written in 1996 and updated in 2000 - it is starting to get a bit out of date.

Overall I would recommend this as a solid introduction and reference.

The bible
If you could choose only one book about molecular modelling - this should be it. Everything is covered, more or less thourough, from ab initio to molecular docking, algorithms, force fields, molecular dynamics, etc. It is well written, but also works well if you want to look up single key words. The book can be read by novices to molecular modelling as well as it is useful for experts. I can highly recommend it.

Review by a molecular tyro
I'd like to recommend this book from the perspective of someone who is new to the field. I have only an informal background in chemistry and biology and an undergraduate physics degree that's 20 years old. Mr. Leach works through a broad range of material, from numeric solutions to the quantum equations for a molecule to algorithms for searching through the conformational space. His descriptions have to be concise in order to fit the enormous volume of material he has to cover, yet I found that I had no trouble following along. He often takes a historical approach. I found this effective. I would find myself wandering down blind alleys when examining the early solutions, then read the later art and have a greater appreciation for the problem than if the ultimate answer were presented first. I have been able to use much of the book as a practical guide in my work.

Frankly, I'm amazed that someone with a professional life can find the time to put together a book of this scope.

Good overview of the field
Leach provides a very good overview of the entire computational chemistry field, discussing everything from ab initio quantum mechanical methods to molecular mechanics. The book is fairly easy to read and is appropriate for beginners. However, I did detect certain typographical errors in sections of the book discussing QM methods that may confuse those just being introduced to the field. Hopefully these will be removed in later printings. For a more detailed discussion of QM methods try Introduction to Computational Chemistry by Jensen.

One of the first...
I hear that the Jensen book is very similar... But, until I read it I'll keep my trap shut... This is a very good book at providing some of the foundations for how many comp. chem. methods function. Gives a good overview for almost all methods, but some newer concepts (which weren't exactly developed at the time) are a bit sparser... The math isn't overly daunting if you can follow most QMech stuff, and he provides many many references in case you do get stuck... Overall, good, but perhaps needs to be overhauled for the next generation of comp. chem. ... Read more

Book Description

Ira N. Levine's fifth edition of Physical Chemistry provides students with an in-depth fundamental treatment of physical chemistry. At the same time, the treatment is made easy to follow by giving full step-by-step derivations, clear explanations and by avoiding advanced mathematics unfamiliar to students. Necessary math and physics have thorough review sections. Worked examples are followed by a practice exercise. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Excellent physical chemistry text I've ever had
I'm Japanese student learning physical chemistry. This book is for students. The auther write this book truely helupful manner and I can learn thremodynamics with great fun without confusing. And now,I just enter the chapter "kinetic theory of gases" ,this chapter is also written so kindly. If you hope to understand physical chemistry seriously, get this book. This book will be your necessary.

A great author and professor!
Prof. Ira Levine - the author of this text -- teaches at my alma mater, Brooklyn College. When I was an undergraduate, I was fortunate enough to take him for both semesters of Physical Chemistry. I must admit that he is both a wonderful lecturer and a great author. Any serious Physical Chemistry student should consider his textbook, which is clearly, written and well-organized. If you have any questions regarding my experiences with the textbook and/or lectures, feel free to e-mail me.

A great author and teacher
Prof. Ira Levine - the author of this text -- teaches at my alma mater, Brooklyn College. When I was an undergraduate, I was fortunate enough to take him for both semesters of Physical Chemistry. I must admit that he is both a wonderful lecturer and a great author. Any serious Physical Chemistry student should consider his textbook, which is clearly, written and well-organized.

Real Physical Chemisry, not dumbed down P chem
Reviewers who rate this book poorly are obviously not physical science or engineering majors. They blame Professor Levine's textbook for their own inability to grasp physical chemistry. Professor Levine's textbook is well organized, starting with first principles. All important topics and results are derived and explained, and Professor Levine points out common mistakes made by students. Chapters end in more advanced topics that one won't appreciate until they are in graduate school. Having used this textbook as an undergraduate gave me a lead over my colleagues in physical chemistry topics. To this day, it is the text I refer to most often when I need to resort to a chemistry reference. Students who can't appreciate the value of this work need to consider purchasing The Illustrated Physical Chemistry for the Life Sciences.

This book is awful
This is a horrible book, possibly the worst Chemistry book I have ever had. The book is written in confusing, disconnected, language that is not geared toward the student, but rather to Levine's Ph.D collegues. Levine never gets to the point. Important concepts and ideas are drowned in needless jargon and text. I spent more time "hunting" for the important information rather than studying. In fact, there is so much useless material it is hard to distinguish the relevant from the irrelevant. It made for a very miserable Physical Chemistry course, and I actually learned more when I stopped reading the book and just worked a lot of problems. To any professors or students who are considering this book, I would recommend to stay far away from it, because it basically .... ... Read more

Book Description

Comprised of three information-packed parts, Pairs Trading presents an in-depth look at the various aspects of these strategies and provides quantitative tools to assist in their analysis. The first part of this comprehensive resource sets the context for the rest of the book by introducing preliminary material on some key topics, including time series, factor models, and Kalman filtering.

After presenting the broad ideas and concepts of this trading method, Pairs Trading delves into two different versions of pairs trading in the equity markets–statistical arbitrage pairs trading and risk arbitrage. Part II of this book details statistical arbitrage pairs trading, which is a relative value arbitrage on two securities based on the premise that there is a long-run equilibrium between the prices of the stocks comprising the pair. Part III moves on to illustrate the trading techniques and strategies associated with risk arbitrage–the widely practiced arbitrage technique that involves pairs trading arising in the context of corporate events, especially mergers and acquisitions.

Written in a straightforward and accessible style, Pairs Trading provides a framework that will allow you to boost the bottom line of any portfolio. ... Read more

Book Description

As the first modern physical chemistry textbook to cover quantum mechanics before thermodynamics and kinetics, this book provides a contemporary approach to the study of physical chemistry. By beginning with quantum chemistry, students will learn the fundamental principles upon which all modern physical chemistry is built. The text includes a special set of "MathChapters" to review and summarize the mathematical tools required to master the material Thermodynamics is simultaneously taught from a bulk and microscopic viewpoint that enables the student to understand how bulk properties of materials are related to the properties of individual constituent molecules. This new text includes a variety of modern research topics in physical chemistry as well as hundreds of worked problems and examples. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

innovative and articulate
Simon and McQuarrie have succeeded in upbraiding the traditional approach to introductory physical chemistry (thermodynamics first, quantum chemistry second) and explaining chemistry the way it ought to be taught, with the fundamentals of quantum theory and molecular dynamics first. The prose and conceptual progression are accessible to the average undergraduate, yet the book covers, in detail, a spectrum of contemporary topics that almost challenge the scope of a physcial chemistry text. It seems that the precedent for future physical chemistry texts has been set and the drab, awkward Atkins text can be abandoned

The Only P-Chem Textbook You'll Need
One of the most emerging fear of P-Chem students is the rigid dificulty and obscureness of the mathematical background. Many textbooks have unfortunately overseen the importance of treating the mathematics and establishing link between the mathematics and the physical interpretation of chemical phenomenon. McQuarrie's text addresses and amends this problem in a brilliant. Difficult mathematical concepts are integrated along with the appropriate topics and are presented in a concise fashion. The first half of the text discusses topics in quantum chemistry while the rest deals with thermodynamics, statistical mechanics,and kinetics. All the equations are backed by clear explanation and mathematical derivation. When I took quantum chemistry (the first course of the P-Chem sequence), we used McQuarrie and it worked just fine in explaining all the topics covered in lecture.s (such as spectroscopy, perturbation theory, etc). Unfortunately professor from the second semester (thermodynamics) decided to abandon McQuarrie and used instead Atkins' Physical Chemistry, which is absolutely not worth the money and very confusing and difficult to follow. I kept the McQuarrie book and used that as study aids and reference, whereas I trashed Atkins as soon as the semester was over (well, I immediately sold it back). McQuarrie is the only P-Chem book you'll find useful and clear.

The best textbook I have ever had to read
First of all, let's get something straight: I am not usually one to recommed textbooks, neither am I am chemistry major who may get perverse pleasure out of reading a textbook.
I am a chemical engineering major who was required to take this class for graduation. As the professor was less than stellar, I depended heavily on this book to pass the class. I found that the book is an enjoyable read. The topics are presented clearly and concisely, without undue wordiness or un-helpful examples. The material presented is excrutiatingly difficult and I believe that the authors did the very best job possible with the material at hand.
In short, don't buy it for fun, but if you are taking physical chemistry, this is a must.

A very thourough treatment of quantum mechanics
I used this book for indroductory quantum mechanics. Its a very difficult book, but after a while I got a bit more used to it. I must say that it covers alot of material in quantum chemistry but it might not be great for an introductory text because its written for a more advanced audience (in my opinion). They go into alot of detail that I think could be left out or left for 'advanced study'. The problem is though, you can't skip any section because everything builds on the previous material.

When the samples problems are worked out, the author assumes that you can jump to conclusions about calculus. They often leave out steps and it is left to the student to work out the math. This can be incredibly frustrating, especially at the beginning when you're just learning how to deal with pchem. The answer book was sometimes a big help, but I think that if you really want to learn how to solve problems, looking at the answers is going to cause you to rely on having the answers for you and you won't learn to think for yourself. I suppose if you really do get stuck, you could use the answer book, but you'd have to be really displiined to not sneak a look at it even when you're just a bit confused! I'd suggest going to a professor or a tutor instead of referring to the answer book. They can show you how to think for yourself.

However, even though I found pchem to be the most challenging class I ever took as an undergraduate and in my honest opinion this book didn't make it any easier, I think this book is pretty good as a reference. It covers alot of information, and if you're good at math, you might very well benefit from it. If you're not so good at math, or don't like spending hours trying to work out samples problems in the book, search around for an easier to understand book. You'll save yourself alot of time!

Not an ideal intro, but a keeper
The University of Pittsburgh used this text my p-chem I class, which deals with quantum physics. This book and the associated answer manual have a wealth of information, and I think this will be a great addition to my library for the years to come. I noticed, however, that the highly detail mathematical derivations of key equations often came at the expense of explanations or illustrations. I like mathematical rigor, but it helps to explain the significance of the mathematical models, and this book could do a much better job. Rather than fishing for the right information in McQuarrie, I found myself going to the Atkins text to help ease me into McQuarrie. This book has great staying power due to its great detail and scope of topics, and I'm treasuring my copy, but it has flaws as a beginning undergraduate text. ... Read more

Book Description

Since its original appearance in 1977, Advanced Organic Chemistry has found wide use as a text providing broad coverage of the structure, reactivity and synthesis of organic compounds. The Fourth Edition provides updated material but continues the essential elements of the previous edition. The material in Part A is organized on the basis of fundamental structural topics such as structure, stereochemistry, conformation and aromaticity and basic mechanistic types, including nucleophilic substitution, addition reactions, carbonyl chemistry, aromatic substitution and free radical reactions. The material in Part B is organized on the basis of reaction type with emphasis on reactions of importance in laboratory synthesis. As in the earlier editions, the text contains extensive references to both the primary and review literature and provides examples of data and reactions that illustrate and document the generalizations. While the text assumes completion of an introductory course in organic chemistry, it reviews the fundamental concepts for each topic that is discussed.

The Fourth Edition updates certain topics that have advanced rapidly in the decade since the Third Edition was published, including computational chemistry, structural manifestations of aromaticity, enantioselective reactions and lanthanide catalysis.The two parts stand alone, although there is considerable cross-referencing. Part A emphasizes quantitative and qualitative description of structural effects on reactivity and mechanism. Part B emphasizes the most general and useful synthetic reactions. The focus is on the core of organic chemistry, but the information provided forms the foundation for future study and research in medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry, biological chemistry and physical properties of organic compounds. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Update of a Classic
This is an update on a classic text that has been used by many graduate and advanced undergraduate students. The core of the book is still an excellent survey of older literature and of enormous use to students. There are also many excellent problems. Unfortunately, there is not as much new material or references in some sections. I found I had to frequently supplement the text with current readings. The use of modern theory is especially lacking.

Course on Physical Organic Chemistry
Carey and Sundberg had written the most detailed and briliant account in the subject of organic chemistry. This volume along with Part B (Reactions and Synthesis) contribute to the most updated account in advanced organic chemistry. Part A deals with chemical bonding + structure, basic stereochemical principles, conformational analysis, stereoelectronic effects, and organic reaction mechanisms.

For many organic students, a basic picture of chemical bonding and structure is more than adequate. The mathematical complications in physical chemistry have haunted many organic students including myself. Carey and Sundberg discuss concepts in chemical bonding and structure most relevant to organic chemistry and organic compounds in very plain language. This volume covers valence bond, molecular orbital theory (MO), Huckel molecular orbital theory, interaction between sigma and pi systems, hyperconjugation. The book also frontier orbital theory (HOMO, LUMO, PMO) in the context of perturbation theory.

The coverage on stereochemistry is succinct but detailed. It introduces ideas of enantiomeric and diastereomeric relationships. It also emphasizes on the significance and consequence of prochiral relationships and stereochemistry of dynamic processes. Conformational analysis is discussed mostly in the context of 3-membered to 7-membered ring systems. The book also provides thorough discussion on kinetic vs. thermodynamic control in mechanisms. Some of the less-easy-to-grasp concepts are discussed in details such as the Hammond's Postulate, Curtin-Hammett Principles and isotope effects. The book also contains a section on inorganic catalysis, Lewis acid catalysis and solvent effects. It further reinforces the theory and concept studied in introductory courses.

The rest of the book focuses on some of the most significant organic reactions: their substrates, reaction mechanism, choice of solvents, intermediates, and possible stereochemical outcomes. Part A mostly deal with all the above except for stereochemical outcomes. This book covers nucleophilic substitution (Sn1, Sn2, Sn1b), polar addition and elimination reaction, carbocation and cabanion chemistry, and finally an introduction of reactions of carbonyl compounds without emphasizing on the stereochemical outcomes. The book provides an abundance of reaction examples organized in schemes. It makes studying very effective and helpful. The coverage on factors affecting nucleophilic reactions (leaving group ability, steric strain, substitutent effect, solvent, neighboring group participation) is excellent, so much better than most titles currently available.

The book concludes with sections on aromaticity, aromatic substitution, concerted reactions, and free-radical reaction. The section on aromatic substitution covers structure-reactivity relationships and specific reactions such as nitration, halogenation, Friedel-Crafts, diazonium coupling and addition-elimination. The section on cncerted reactions are basic meant to give a taste of these reactions. A more detailed account of these reactions will be found in Part B. Overall Carey and Sundberg is not an easy book to read. It assumes a basic knowledge of an introductory organic chemistry course. Advanced undergraduates and graduate students will welcome this new edition and the depth of materials covered.

Great book, a must have
This book is outstanding in explaining the kinetic/mechanistic aspect of reactions and the study of mechanisms in organic as well as in inorganic chemistry (catalysis). It starts out with a nice introduction of the relevant concepts (i.e. MO theory, PMO theory and Quantum Mechanics-not rigourously) specially designed for organic chemists and students who do not have/need a very intricate mathematical background, with the overall achievement of making it a really easy book to read and understand. Definitely, this book and Part B of it are a must have for any chemist!!

Great Book for Graduate studies
I used this book for Physical Organic Chemistry. The chapters are well written and inspire thought. The problem sets are long and have a great variety of problems to work out, but I suggest that you look up the references to many of them. There were a few minor errors in the editing. I recommend this book to everyone studying Organic Chemistry...a must have book.

This book has an unimpeachable reputation at Lomonosov MSU
Should you be a true chemist (whatever specialization), get the Carey&Sundberg's book! It features high degree of perspicuity, and is therefore highly recommended for our students of Master's Program at the Department of Organic Chemistry for individual perusal. Personally, I used to re-read it to get profound understanding of the Art. Together with March's, it deserves deep obeisance (and wide usage), undoubtedly widening one's ken. We are planning to translate the fourth Edition into Russian.....Insistently recommended! ... Read more

Book Description

This edition is fully revised to reflect the current state off the field.
* Significant additions include ultramicroelectrodes, modified electrodes, and scanning probe methods.
* Many chapters have been modified and improved, including electrode kinetics, voltammetric methods, and mechanisms of coupled chemical reactions. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Second Edition updated
The 1st edition (the 1980 version) was the gold standard of electrochemistry books, and the authors have done an excellent job of revision for the 2001 2nd edition. In particular, the sections on impedance and modern pulse methods flow nicely. The spectroscopy section has been updated as well. I have not worked many problems, but they seem useful in elucidating concepts. The mathematics is of a higher order than one expects from electrochemistry, showing the impact of kinetics on electrode processes nicely. I recommend this text for electrochemistry courses highly.

Excellent reference
This is a very complete and thorough book, and covers all of the fundamentals. It suffers from being somewhat out-of-date (1980), so it does not cover modern techniques (e.g., x-ray, STM) or single-crystal electrodes.

It can be rough for the first-time student, but it's a must for the serious researcher. I often spend hours working on a problem, only to discover the answer is buried in here! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellent undergraduate introduction!
Laidler's is a superb introduction to the general field of chemical kinetics. The subject is well presented and clearly explained - the best text on the subject that I've found. ... Read more

Book Description

Inclusively examining the science and technology behind pressure-sensitive products, this Second Edition hails recent discoveries in contact physics and mechanics and newly debuted raw materials and coating technologies to remain the preferred information source of engineers, chemists, academics, and students. Further, Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives and Applications is skillfully rendered by a single expert athor—lending its contents a unity and applicability lacking in other reference compilations on the subject. ... Read more

Book Description

Theories of Chemistry reviews the theories that underpin chemistry, but yet are not traditionally recognized as such, being normally considered as part of physics. Based on the argument that the needs of chemistry are distinctive, a mathematical structure of topics such as quantum mechanics, relativity theory, thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, suiting the needs of chemistry, is outlined. The subject matter is arranged in a sequence that reveals the foundations of chemistry. Starting from the mathematical basis, the sequence runs through the general concepts (mechanics and wave formalism) and the elementary building blocks, to molecules and macrosystems.

The book is the product of the author's reading of original literature rather than of standard texts. It differs from what is conventionally emphasized because of the different approach that it argues for the recognition of chemistry as an emergent discipline, ultimately based on the properties and structure of space and time. Hence the emphasis on otherwise unexpected topics such as quaternions, lie groups, polarized light, compressed atoms, rydberg atoms, solitons, molecular hydrogen, and phase transitions, amongst others. The topic is the understanding of chemistry from first principles.

The book is self-contained and can be used without reference to other sources.

- All chemisty theories are covered in this one volume.
- The book is self-contained and can be used without reference to other sources.
- Many topics, routinely referred to in advanced chemistry texts, without making them accessible to the non-specialist, are brought together. ... Read more

Book Description

This best-selling volume presents the principles and applications of physical chemistry as they are used to solve problems in biology and medicine.The First Law; the Second Law; free energy and chemical equilibria; free energy and physical Equilibria; molecular motion and transport properties; kinetics: rates of chemical reactions; enzyme kinetics; the theory and spectroscopy of molecular structures and interactions: molecular distributions and statistical thermodynamics; and macromolecular structure and X-ray diffraction.For anyone interested in physical chemistry as it relates to problems in biology and medicine. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Dry and confusing:Hardcover 3rd Edition
For a very difficult subject this book is without any color or interesting text.The derivations of the already complicated equations jump steps so you have to redo them all yourself to see how they got to the end. I got through to nearly the end of the first chapeter but then gave up for now as I was falling asleep too often.I get the impression that the authors were approached by the publisher to write this textbook and that it was not written with any passion to show the excitement of scientific discovery.There is no background or history mentioned which would have made the whole thing more human.

not so bad
Tinoco, Sauer, Wang, and now Puglisi, have written a fine text on both the foundations of thermodyanmics and physical chemistry, and the applications of these fields to biological phenomena (both natural and experimental.)

The 3rd edition of the book, in this reviewer's memory, was remarkable only in its staggering lack of focus and explanatory power. This 4th edition vastly improves on that effort.

It has to be said that thermodynamics without statistical mechanics is probably always going to be obscured by the fog of axioms, unless the reader exhibits some remarkable intuitiveness about entropy and partial derivatives. The first few chapters of the book focus on thermodynamics from this axiomatic approach, and may be the reason why so many undergraduate students find the whole thing so distasteful. But it has to be said that the authors spared some effort in trying to ameliorate the abstractness of thermo, by interjecting molecular interpretations of thermo phenomena every now and then.

Once the reader has sped past the thermodynamics, and free energy equilibria chapters, he can be expected to come upon a series of well-written chapters on kinetics. The chapters are generously illustrated with informative diagrams, and most modern and relevant topics are discussed, such as transition state theories, enzyme kinetics, allostery (although the section on allostery was slightly underwhelming. I recommend that the authors develop this section more carefully by considering the various regimes of allostery.)

A valiant attempt is made for discussing quantum mechanics and applications to physical chemistry problems. However, it would seem that quantum mechanics just can't be taught in one chapter, although it's essential in proper understanding of spectroscopy, which forms the basis for the subsequent 'applications' chapter.

The book ends with a discussion of statistical thermodynamics. If the reader begins here and reads it carefully, it is likely that he can surmount the comprehension problems in the initial thermodynamics chapters. This is only the opinion of this reviewer though.

In summary, this is a good book with a comprehensive collection of topics relevant to the modern biology researcher (be you biochemist, biophysicist, chemical biologist, or plain vanilla biologist). The undergraduate student may be bewildered by the variety of topics presented in such a succint manner. The book has easy to read type, sometimes crammed with too much text. There is an absolutely excellent selection of problems, with an accompanying solutions manual that bears only a few errors. Let it be said that there are many many worse physical chemistry books out there, and giving this book anything less than 3 stars would corrupt the usefulness of the ... ratings system.

Good reference
As a graduate student in biochemistry, who has never taken a physical chemistry class, but who has a good background in physics and calculus, I really like this book as a reference. Standard physical chemistry textbooks I looked at, such as Atkins, did not cover the biologically relevant topics I was interetsed in.

This book contains just the right depth for a reference in biophysical chemistry. The concepts are always presented with biological applications in mind. The topics covered, from thermodynamics to kinetcs, quantum chemisty and the physics behind the main biophysical techniques, are exactly what I was looking for.

I was originally intending to buy the 3 volume Cantor and Schimmel series, but I have found that this book gives me everything I need for a much lower price.

This book is HORRIBLE!
This is the WORST book I've ever seen. The authors assume that calculus and differential equations are the second nature to the readers and use complicated mathmatical derivations without any explanation. Furthermore, the topics covered in this book are just too broad and disorganized. After reading a chapter, I wonder, "what is this chapter about?"
Don't buy this book--the only reason that I bought this book is because we use this text book in our class. And only after one term, I am thinking about buying another text. This book is an absolute waste of money.

A really confusing text
This book is not intended for first time learner or a person who wants to study in depth about P-Chem or Bio-P-Chem.
If it were not due to uc berkeley's requirement, I would NEVER buy this.
The text is lacking of derivations. Easy problems are made to be too complicated. I had to refer to my physics book in order to do the problems.
I would not recommend anyone to buy this. ... Read more

Book Description

Understanding Molecular Simulation: From Algorithms to Applications explains the physics behind the "recipes" of molecular simulation for materials science. Computer simulators are continuously confronted with questions concerning the choice of a particular technique for a given application. A wide variety of tools exist, so the choice of technique requires a good understanding of the basic principles. More importantly, such understanding may greatly improve the efficiency of a simulation program. The implementation of simulation methods is illustrated in pseudocodes and their practical use in the case studies used in the text.

Since the first edition only five years ago, the simulation world has changed significantly -- current techniques have matured and new ones have appeared.This new edition deals with these new developments; in particular, there are sections on:

ú Transition path sampling and diffusive barrier crossing to simulaterare events
ú Dissipative particle dynamic as a course-grained simulation technique
ú Novel schemes to compute the long-ranged forces
ú Hamiltonian and non-Hamiltonian dynamics in the context constant-temperature and constant-pressure molecular dynamics simulations
ú Multiple-time step algorithms as an alternative for constraints
ú Defects in solids
ú The pruned-enriched Rosenbluth sampling, recoil-growth, and concerted rotations for complex molecules
ú Parallel tempering for glassy Hamiltonians

Examples are included that highlight current applications and the codes of case studies are available on the World Wide Web. Several new examples have been added since the first edition to illustrate recent applications. Questions are included in this new edition. No prior knowledge of computer simulation is assumed. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Perfect for New Grad Students
This book is how I bootstrapped my way into being a molecular simulationist. Anyone who can program in some language can get started writing simple routines for the basic MD and MC simulations.

I do Monte Carlo simulations at Princeton, and found this book to be the most helpful available for getting my research started. It is my most common reference, and is used extensively in writing background information for various research documents.

However, after you have written your first few codes, you will pass the level of this book and need to move on. I use it less now than I did my first year.

Every student in my group (Panagiotopoulos) has this book I think. And like me, they started with it, but moved on.

A nice disappointment
The title of the book is overly ambitious and falls short on its promises. The book is a good introduction to Molecular Mechanics (MM), Molecular Dynamics (MD) and Monte Carlo (MC) methods, with detailed descriptions of the methods used and FORTRAN (pseudo)code, covering from the basics to some middle-level and some advanced algorithms.
But it does NOT cover all the fields of Molecular Modelling, just the three mentioned (MM, MD and MC), there's no coverage of quantum mechanics methods, nor QSAR or other technologies. And, while it described the algorithms, I can't think of it going all the way through up to building applications. For this, Rapaport's makes a better job, and for a general intro to Molecular Modelling, Grant & Richards' Computational Chemistry is more comprehensive (albeit at a more superficial level). Nor does it provide much detail on the methods used in modelling biological macromolecules, an increasing application field for the methods discussed in the book.
All in all, this book fails to satisfy its cover title, it won't introduce to the whole field (just the areas of MM, MD and MC) nor does it go up to application level. But it IS a REAL GOOD introduction to the subjects covered and their basic algorithms,
with sample code, detailed descriptions and plenty of references to specialized articles, texts and resources.

An excellent introduction
This book is an excellent introduction to the field of molecular dynamics simulation. It is easy to follow for a scientist entering the field and at the same time contains overview of most critical topics in MD simulation. The book's major goal is to describe how to simulate liquids, however it also mentions briefly the methods for gas and liquid simulations. List of references for further readings is very useful and complete.

A great book for begginers.
This book covers many interesting topics in molecular simulation, both Monte Carlo and M.D. It focuses on understanding the main ideas rather than giving long codes. It's a good place to start, but it also covers some ideas not found in many other books. When I try to extend my molecular dynamics program I always check what Frenkel and Smit have to say about it. ... Read more

Book Description

This Third Edition of Glassman's classic text clearly defines the role of chemistry, physics, and fluid mechanics as applied to the complex topic of combustion. Glassman's insightful introductory text emphasizes underlying physical and chemical principles, and encompasses engine technology, fire safety, materials synthesis, detonation phenomena, hydrocarbon fuel oxidation mechanisms, and environmental considerations. Combustion has been rewritten to integrate the text, figures, and appendixes, detailing available combustion codes, making it not only an excellent introductory text but also an important reference source for professionals in the field.

Key Features
* Explains complex combustion phenomena with physical insight rather than extensive mathematics
* Clarifies postulates in the text using extensive computational results in figures
* Lists modern combustion programs indicating usage and availability
* Relates combustion concepts to practical applications ... Read more

Reviews (1)

nice deal
this is the right book for combustion with in depth subject. go for it! ... Read more

Book Description

Chemical Kinetics and Catalysis is a comprehensive guide to chemical kinetics and catalysis, and focuses on the use of computational tools for studying chemical kinetics and catalytic phenomena.  Provides a thorough and up-to-date treatment of chemical kinetics and catalysis, combining traditional background information with the latest computational methods for fitting data to appropriate rate equations. Demonstrates how the vastly improved computational tools now available allow application of kinetic concepts to understanding and predicting the behavior of diverse and complex phenomena, including biological systems, semiconductor growth, and corrosion.

• Contains chapters reviewing of kinetic concepts, introducing kinetics via rate equations and mechanisms, explaining the theory of reaction rates (a section on trajectory calculations to simulate reactions), predicting potential energy surfaces (methods for directing the reaction rate), and discussing catalysis with a focus on modifying the reaction rate.
• A useful reference guide, providing the essential basics along with numerous solved examples, problems, and illustrative computer programs.

Reviews (2)

Good Book for Advanced Reaction Theory
This book does a good job of explaining the basis for reaction mechanisms and how catalysts work. The technical level of this book requires students to have at least a couple of advanced chemistry classes, such as physical chemistry, in their background. In summary, buy this book if you are looking to expand your understanding of chemical reactions and have a solid understanding of the basic chemistry principles.

Great content, but hampered by mistakes
Good book for undergrad and grad students who've already had reactor design and p.chem. Much of the theory, in latter half of the book, takes basis from statistical thermo, so p.chem may be useful. As a student w/o such bkgds, overall I find the book to be very clear in explanation. Delivery of material is deliberate and well thought out. Appreciate the use of many example problems. Unfortunately, no solutions for the Problems at end of chapter.

Unfortunately, the book has a ton of mistakes, some simply typos, but some are very critical mistakes in example problems, some of which are very subtle.

Overall, content is excellent for a one seeking some applicable information (1st half), and those seeking more theoretical treatment (2nd half). ... Read more

Reviews (60)

You could find a better physical chemistry text elsewhere
Out of curiosity, I have read some of the reviews on this book and the first thing that came to my attention was how a couple reviewers mentioned that they believe that those who give bad reviews simply had a hard time with the subject matter. I, however, must disagree. When I took two semesters of physical chemistry last year I had absolutely no trouble with the subject matter. I had seen most of it in my previous physics classes, and I found the math and derivations rather simple (I'm a math major and a physics major). Yet, I still believe that this is by far not the best science text I have ever read. I believe that this text (as with most chemistry books that I have read) could be far more concise. My biggest problem, was the lack of SIMPLE explanation. What I mean by that statement, is that in many instances there is little to no explanation of what the variables in each equation represent, and when the meaning of each variable is explained, the book is so long winded, that by the time one reaches the equation, they've forgotten what they were told the variables did represent.How can anyone understand an explanation when they're not told what values are being spoke of? For those who already know the subject matter, this little fact can be easily overlooked, but for those trying to learn physical chemistry nothing could be worse. Also, this book seems to lack mathematical rigor. Many equations are derived using a lot of hand waving. Why even bother? If the author is not going to offer a completely rigorous derivation, then he should just give a simple English explanation. On, the good side, I think that the book is well organized and has enough illustrations to guide the student through the basic theory, and concepts.

Not for AMATEUR
Professor Atkins wrote an excelent text about Physical Chemistry, covering the areas of this subjetc being extremely rigorous in the concepts and in the math explanations. In this book you will find Thermodynamics (First and Second Laws), Kinetic Chemistry, Kinetic-Molecular Theory of Gases, Equilibrium, Solids, Liquids, Solutions, Kinetic of Complex Reactions, Molecular Simetry, Molecular Struture, Electrochemical Systems, Quantum Mechanics (a very important subject that every student should know), Spectroscopy and many other things. I am really disappointed to define this book with 20, or 30 words. It's a really complex book, and it is for someone who wants to travel in the exciting world of Chemistry, to study and learn the truth about this science. You won't learn Physics or Chemistry without knowing, before, Derivatives, Integrals (Calculus), Linear Algebra. Phisycal Chemistry has an appendix (with bibliography) to cover this subjects in order to become clear the text. If you are an amateur, do not buy this book. I think that amateurs shouldn't send their comments to here: "Oh, it's difficult to read and understand..." ---> You should study before to read a book written by a member of the Division of Physical Chemistry of IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry), instead of sending insignificant comments to here. I am fighting with this book, and if you buy it, you'll too.

Not a very good book
Mathematicians would favor this book. The text is dense and dry. The material is presented in the most boring manner possible. Atkins prefers to explain himself with equations rather than words. The subject matter is not thoroughly explored. No concepts are placed into the "big picture." At best, this book could serve as a decent reference for a chemist or physicist already familiar with the topics and therefore only in need of review. Learning physical chemistry for the first time using this book is a serious chore. I honestly believe that physical chemistry can be a fun, exciting, and challenging subject that is worth learning. This book fails to deliver the material in a manner that does anything but annoy and frustrate. This problem is only compounded by the fact that there are numerous mathematical errors present both in the text and in the solutions of selected problems. If you are stuck using this book because it was required for a class, I suggest you find supplementary material that elaborates better on the many areas in which this book is lacking.

An Honest Opinion...
After reading all the other reviews on this book, one might notice the large gap in opinion on this text. And I think that is justified...For those who really enjoy P-Chem and pour alot of energy and time into the course, this book should be fine; but for those of us who are not particularly fascinated with the inner thermodynamic or kinetic workings of the molecules we've come to love, this book isn't necessarily as explanatory as it could be. Also, the professor one has makes a BIG difference in this course. If one has a professor who uses this book as simply a reference to his/her teaching/lecturing then the book makes a great reference material. But for those professors who are new (like mine) and expect undergraduate CHEM majors to leave their course understanding every single facet of the P-Chem cosmos, using this book as their Bible and lecturing straight from it, then this book is not so great (pretty bad, in fact). However, I must say, the text varies in readability and depth of explanation. Some parts give sufficient explanation and other portions leave students feeling confused at least. That's why I give this book a 3 star rating. I think other books may be more beneficial.

The Gold Standard of Physical Chemistry Texts
Those who have rated this text poorly must do so not becuase of the quality of the text, but because of their appernt dislike of the subject. If you need to learn and understand central concepts of physical chemistry, you need look no farther then Atkins.
Atkin's text is the gold standard of the field, lovingly writen and orginized, text books (in any subject) simply dont get much better than this.
Disliking Physical Chemistry is one thing, but blamming this book is nonsence. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellent Reference
For anyone in the pharmaceutical sciences, this book is a must. It is exhaustive and covers every aspect of physical pharmacy that you can think of. Along with Remington's The Science and Practice of Pharmacy, these two books are a must for anyone in hard-core pharmaceutical or pharmaceutical chemistry research.

...
This is probably the worst textbook I have ever had thedispleasure of being forced to own. The author expects the"student" to already have a degree to be able to read thetext. None of the formulas are explained in detail at all and someare just pulled out of the air. Others are explained only half givingvariables that are expected to be known - in a textbook! Also, thelayout and format of the book are horrible, it's in newsprint stylewith no color no illustrations to give better understanding of thedata contained in the book. There are a few graphs, but again,they're poorly explained. In my personal opinion, DO NOT PURCHASEthis book, it will not help you. You're better off trying to learnthe material on your own. ... Read more

Book Description

Designed as the core textbook for the required physical pharmacy or pharmaceutics course within the pharmacy school curriculum. With a focus on examples from pharmacy practice, this book presents the chemical and physical chemical principles fundamental to the development of medication dosage forms. Numerous case studies present relevant examples of physical chemical principles in current pharmacy practice. ... Read more

Book Description

This book evolved from an interdisciplinary graduate course entitled Molecular Modeling developed at New York University. Its primary goal is to stimulate excitement for molecular modeling research while introducing readers to the wide range of biomolecular problems being solved by computational techniques and to those computational tools. The book is intended for beginning graduate students in medical schools and scientific fields such as biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and computer science. Other scientists who wish to enter, or become familiar, with the field of biomolecular modeling and simulation may also benefit from the broad coverage of problems and approaches.

The book surveys three broad areas: biomolecular structure and modeling: current problems and state of computations; molecular mechanics: force field origin, composition, and evaluation techniques; and simulation methods: geometry optimization, Monte Carlo, and molecular dynamics approaches. Appendices featuring homework assignments, reading lists, and other information useful for teaching molecular modeling complement the material in the main text. Extensive use of world wide web resources is encouraged, and additional course and text information may be found on a supplementary website.

Some praise for Tamar Schlick's "Molecular Modeling and Simulation: An Interdisciplinary Guide":||"The interdisciplinary structural biology community has waited long for a book of this kind which provides an excellent introduction to molecular modeling."|-Harold A. Scheraga, Cornell University||"A uniquely valuable introduction to the modeling of biomolecular structure and dynamics. A rigorous and up-to-date treatment of the foundations, enlivened by engaging anecdotes and historical notes."|-J. Andrew McCammon, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California at San Diego||"I am often asked by physicists, mathematicians and engineers to recommend a book that would be useful to get them started in computational molecular biology. I am also often approached by my colleagues in computational biology to recommend a solid textbook for a graduate course in the area. Tamar Schlick has written the book that I will be recommending to both groups. Tamar has done an amazing job in writing a book that is both suitably accessible for beginners, and suitably rigorous for experts."|-J.J. Collins, Boston University

FROM THE REVIEWS:

BIOTECH INTERNATIONAL [BTI]: " . . . The text emphasises that the field is changing very rapidly and that it is full of exciting discoveries. Many of these findings have lead to medical and technological breakthroughs. This book stimulates this excitement, while still providing students many computational details . . . It should appeal to beginning graduate students in medical schools, and in many scientific departments such as biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and computer science. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Excellent book for both students and researchers
This book covers state-of-arts technologies used in today's hot field: molecular modeling. The book is easy to understand and it is suitable for graduate students in both theoretic majors and experimental majors. The homeworks in the book are practical for students to learn basic molecular modeling computer skills very fast.

Dr. Schlick is an expert in this field and her group has published tons of molecular modeling research papers. Her expertise also makes this book valuable for computational scientific researchers. I highly recommend it.

A long expected book in molecular modeling is finally here
I highly recommend Professor T. Schlick's book. It is beautifully written with many examples and great illustrations. The book is truly interdisciplinary; it covers, in good depth, both the biological and mathematical aspects of computational structural biology. Most chapters start with an amenable introduction and finish with "hands-on" recommendations and future challenges. I was particularly pleased with the level of detail in each chapter (in particular those that show the reader the advantages and pitfalls of the different methods presented). My colleague Mariel Vazquez and I used this book in the design and preparation of our "Special topics in Mathematics" course at the UC Berkeley Mathematics Department during the Spring of 2003.

This upper-level undergraduate/lower-level graduate course was centered on mathematical and computational models of the three dimensional structure of DNA, and DNA topology. We found Professor T. Schlick's book very useful in our class preparation. In particular we covered chapter 5 (DNA structure) completely, sections 3 and 4 from chapter 7 (basic principles and formulation of atomic interactions in molecular mechanics), and several sections or subsections from chapters 8 and 9 (force terms used in molecular dynamics simulations). We also covered most of the material in chapter 10 (Multivariate Minimization), and gave a brief introduction to chapter 11 (Monte-Carlo techniques) and chapter 12 (Molecular Dynamics algorithms).

Chapter 5 starts with a very amenable and brief introduction that relates DNA with other biological processes and describes some of the challenges in studying DNA structure. It continues describing the basic building blocks of DNA. The author wisely spends some time defining the nomenclature for each of the atoms, angles and bonds that form these basic blocks. The following sections teach the reader what parameters are relevant for describing a DNA double helix and how they characterize the A, B and Z- forms of DNA. Illustrations in this chapter are particularly helpful.

Although our course's approach to DNA supercoiling was different that the one in the book I found particularly useful some illustrations in chapter 6 and movies (to be found in her webpage) that Prof. Schlick's group has developed over the years. In brief, chapter 6 is a study of more complex structures and behavior of DNA (such as structural role of the DNA sequence, DNA-protein interactions, and higher order organization of DNA -i.e. DNA supercoiling and histone-DNA interactions). This chapter can be a good source for short research projects (e.g. final projects).

Chapters 7, 8 and 9 describe the basic concepts in molecular mechanics. From sections 7.3 and 7.4 I found of interest how the author addresses the problem of the system size (i.e. number of interacting molecules) and some of the details that the author gives for modeling the geometry of atomic interactions. At the end of the chapter (section 7.4.3) interested readers can find some of the limitations of current approaches. Chapters 8 and 9 describe in depth the force fields and how to implement them. Chapter 9 also illustrates with clarity how to implement periodic boundary conditions and the advantages of using different lattice models.

Chapter 10 describes a number of familiar methods for energy minimization (i.e. steepest descent, conjugate gradient, etc....). We used sections 10.1 to 10.4 and section 10.5.2 (conjugate gradient). I found the Hessian patterns shown in figures 10.4 and 10.5 and the minimization trajectories shown in 10.10 very pedagogical. As in previous chapters the author finishes with practical recommendations and future challenges.

We left chapter 11 (Monte Carlo methods) for last in the course and discussed chapter 12 (molecular dynamics) first. As in previous chapters the author gives a very nice introduction (section 12.1 and 12.2) and covers the basics on simulation protocols in sections 12.3 and 12.4. Section 12.4 describes the basic integration algorithms such as leap-frog, verlet, etc... Figure 12.3 was revealing for the students as it compares the time scales in biological systems.

Chapter 11 (Monte-Carlo methods) provides a very comprehensive introduction to Monte-Carlo methods. We found particularly useful some of the subsections of random number generation and the treatment of Importance sampling and Markov chains in section 11.5.

As mentioned earlier we were particularly delighted with the amount of details given in each topic. For example chapters 7 and 8 provide all the formalism needed for the problems of molecular mechanics. In section 8.4 (bond angle potential) the author highlights the differences (both formally and by figures-see figure 8.4) between different formulations of the problem (see also figure 8.6). In Chapter 10 the author describes minimization algorithms in detail and shows some of the patterns that one observes in the Hessian associated to minimization functions of biological structures (see figs. 10.4, 10.5 and 10.11). She also makes very detailed comparisons between the different minimization methods (see figs 10. 2, 10.10). In chapter 12 she compares the different methods and initial conditions for the algorithms discussed (figs 12.3, 12.4, 12.6).

Overall we found that Prof. T. Schlick's book is very adequate for a broad spectrum of levels and very accessible to both graduate and undergraduate students interested in mathematical modeling and computational biology. It is also very well organized facilitating the option of selecting parts of the material for the classroom or for use in one's research.

Outstanding introduction
... not only to molecular modeling, but to some of the subtleties of DNA and protein behavior and geometry, too.

This book's focus is generally on interactions with large molecules, DNA and proteins, although it does discuss small molecules (drugs, a few dozen to a few hundred atoms) too. That means that it skips most of the quantum mechanical modeling of more advanced computational chemistry texts.

Nothing is lost, because Schlick covers her chosen topic (molecular modeling and dynamics) in such detail. She starts with a very clear discussion of the structure of large biomolecules, with emphasis on the features that need quantitative description for modeling. That covers protein structure at ever level. It also covers DNA/RNA structure in the best detail I've ever seen. The double-helix is the just the starting point. There are alternative helix forms, non-standard binding between nucleotides, and asymmetries caused by nucleotide composition. The next chapters describe the geometric model and, briefly, the forces acting between atoms.

The second half of the book gets down to the nuts and bolts of modeling. This includes numerical techniques, minimization, sampling and Monte Carlo techniques, and the start of dynamics. Schlick attacks some of the nasty points of the calculations, such as modeling of forces that act on very different time scales. As with the simpler material, the development is clear, descriptive, and free of pointless theorems. The meticulous reader should come away able to implement most or all of the techniques described. The level of presentation is consistent and approachable. I think freshman physics should be enough preparation for most students to get most of the value out of the discussion.

The book is written with clarity as a top priority. The glossary is in the front, making sure that the reader knows it's a first-class part of the text. After that, every chapter starts with a list of the mathematical symbols and variables used and a one-line description of each. These are small things, but they increase the book's readability immensely. The illustrations are generally informative enough. On the whole, though, they don't seem quite up to the level of the textual and mathematical presentations.

I needed a crash course in the mathematical techniques used for describing molecular structure and behavior. I should have read this book first - its clarity and thoroughness would have saved me a lot of time. After this one, I can now go back and reread the more complex texts with more hops of understanding. Do yourself a favor and read this one first.

Beautifully written!
As a person with no expertise in molecular modeling who wanted to learn about this field, this book is right on! I find the author's lively text to be as well-written and clear as any science textbook I have ever read. I especially enjoyed the first two chapters for their historical perspective and their practical illustrations of applications of genetics in the world today. These chapters can be understood by non-scientists, whereas the rest of the book is clearly designed for graduate students in any one of the science disciplines.

The interesting information sprinkled throughout the book, including the boxes and figures, help keep the reader stimulated and yearning for greater knowledge of this exciting field. The color graphics also complement the book nicely. Although the subject covered in the book is extremely broad, the author managed to convey the perspectives of multiple scientific disciplines (e.g., biology, chemistry, computer science, math) very well. The combination of breadth and depth in a readable style is remarkable.

Overall, I highly recommend this book to readers interested in the area.

Never short of something exciting
It contains many many exiting problems and stimulate to go through the world of art of biology and mathematics. This book can guide the way where to go when you lost in the world of biomathematics, specifically molecular modeling. It looks like a well-organized dictionary with analysis. So it is good for a beginner and also deep-thinker in computational biology field. ... Read more

Book Description

The critically acclaimed guide to the principles, techniques, and instruments of electroanalytical chemistry-now expanded and revised
Joseph Wang, internationally renowned authority on electroanalytical techniques, thoroughly revises his acclaimed book to reflect the rapid growth the field has experienced in recent years. He substantially expands the theoretical discussion while providing comprehensive coverage of the latest advances through late 1999, introducing such exciting new topics as self-assembled monolayers, DNA biosensors, lab-on-a-chip, detection for capillary electrophoresis, single molecule detection, and sol-gel surface modification. Along with numerous references from the current literature and new worked-out examples, Analytical Electrochemistry, Second Edition offers clear, reader-friendly explanations of the fundamental principles of electrochemical processes as well as important insight into the potential of electroanalysis for problem solving in a wide range of fields, from clinical diagnostics to environmental science. Key topics include:
* The basics of electrode reactions and the structure of the interfacial region
* Tools for elucidating electrode reactions and high-resolution surface characterization
* An overview of finite-current controlled potential techniques
* Electrochemical instrumentation and electrode materials
* Principles of potentiometric measurements and ion-selective electrodes
* Chemical sensors, including biosensors, gas sensors, solid-state devices, and sensor arrays ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Wang is so beautiful
Wang did such a nice job on this one. He is an artist, Wang, such an artist. I love Wang. I love Wang until the day I die! ... Read more

Book Description

This best-selling comprehensive lab textbook includes experiments with background theoretical information, safety recommendations, and computer applications. Updated chapters are provided regarding the use of spreadsheets and other scientific software as well as regarding electronics and computer interfacing of experiments using Visual Basic and LabVIEW. Supplementary instructor information regarding necessary supplies, equipment, and procedures is provided in an integrated manner in the text. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

S-G-N...AN INSTRUCTOR'S PERSPECTIVE
(...)IN ORDER FOR MY CHEMISTRY, PHYSICS AND CHEMICAL ENGINEERS TO MAKE USE OF THIS TEXT SOME BASIC PRINCIPLES NEED TO BE REVIEWED (OR IF THE STUDENT HASN'T HAD P-CHEM LECTURE THEY WILL ALSO NEED A GOOD LECTURE TEXT).

AS AN EXAMPLE LET'S TAKE SPECTROSCOPY AS A TOPIC...STUDENTS COME INTO MY COURSE LARGELY QUITE CONFUSED ABOUT HOW AL