Abstract
That a molecule has a shape has been a central idea in theoretical chemistry since about 1874. It has become so deeply embedded in chemical thinking that students take it for granted from their earliest years and regard it as a completely uncontroversial idea. Before examining the idea further, we explain how the word “shape” is going to be interpreted in the context of this paper.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
C.A. Coulson, J. Chem. Soc. 2069 (1955).
E. von Meyer, “A History of Chemistry from Earliest Times to the Present Day,” (transi. G. McGowan) Macmillan, London (1898).
Mary Jo Nye, ed., “The Question of the Atom,” Tomash Publishers, Los Angeles (1984).
C.A. Russell, “The History of Valency,” Leicester University Press, Leicester (1971).
A. Cayley, Philos. Mag. 67:444 (1874).
J J. Sylvester, American Journal of Mathematics 1:64 (1878).
I.M. Klotz, “Diamond Dealers and Feather Merchants. Tales from the Sciences,” Birkhauser, Boston (1986).
E.W. Frankland, American Journal of Mathematics 1:345 (1878).
R. Hoffmann and P. Laszlo, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Eng. 30:1 (1991).
B.T. Sutcliffe, Physics Bull. 360 (1977).
B.T. Sutcliffe, J. Molec. Struct. (Theochem) 259:29 (1992).
B.T. Sutcliffe, Int. J. Quant. Chem., to appear (1995).
N. Bjerrum in:, “Nernst-Festschrift,” 90, Verlag von Knapp, Berlin (1912).
N. Bjerrum, Verhandl. deut. physik. Ges. 16:737 (1914).
G.N. Lewis, “Valence and the Structure of Atoms and Molecules,” Chemical Catalog Co., New York (1923).
N.V. Sidgwick, “The Electronic Theory of Valency,” Oxford University Press, Oxford (1927).
R.G. Woolley, Adv. Phys. 25:27 (1976).
S.C. Wang, Phys. Rev. 31:579 (1928).
M. Born and J.R. Oppenheimer, Ann. der Phys. 84:457 (1927).
E.B. Davies, J. Phys. A. Math. and Gen. 28:4025 (1995).
M. Born and K. Huang, “Dynamical Theory of Crystal Lattices,” Oxford University Press, Oxford (1955).
M. Reed and B. Simon, “Methods of Modern Mathematical Physics, IV, Analysis of Operators,” Academic Press, New York (1978).
W. Thirring, “A Course in Mathematical Physics, 3, Quantum Mechanics of Atoms and Molecules,” transi. by E.M. Harrell, Springer-Verlag, New York (1981).
G.M. Zhislin, Trudy Most Mat. Obšč. 9:82 (1960).
J. Uchiyama, Pub. Res. Inst. Math. Sci. Kyoto A 2:117 (1966).
B. Simon, “Quantum Mechanics for Hamiltonians Defined as Quadratic Forms,” Princeton University Press, Princeton (1971).
G.M. Zhislin, Theor. Math. Phys. 7:571 (1971).
M.B. Ruskai and J.P. Solovej in:, “Schrödinger Operators,” Lecture Notes in Physics 403, 153, E. Balslev, ed., Springer-Verlag, Berlin (1992).
M.B. Ruskai, Ann. Inst. Henri Poincaré 52:397 (1990).
M.B. Ruskai, Commun. Math. Phys. 137:553 (1991).
B. Simon, Helv. Phys. Acta 43:607 (1970).
S.A. Vugal’ter and G.M. Zhislin, Theor. Math. Phys. 32:602 (1977).
W.D. Evans, R.T. Lewis and Y. Saito, Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. Lond. A 338:113 (1992).
J.-M. Richard, J. Fröhlich, G.-M. Graf and M. Seifert, Phys. Rev. Lett. 71:1332 (1993).
B.T. Sutcliffe, J. Chem. Soc., Faraday Transactions 89:2321 (1993).
B.T. Sutcliffe in:, “Conceptual Trends in Quantum Chemistry,” E.S. Kryachko and J.L. Calais, eds., 53, Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht (1994).
F.T. Smith Phys. Rev. Letts. 45:1157 (1980).
B.T. Sutcliffe in:, “Methods of Computational Chemistry 4,” S. Wilson, ed., 33, Plenum Press, New York and London (1991).
D.M. Brink and G.R. Satchler, “Angular Momentum,” 2nd ed., Clarendon Press, Oxford (1968).
L.C. Biedenharn and J.C. Louck, “Angular Momentum in Quantum Physics,” Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass. (1982).
J.M. Brown and B J. Howard, Mol. Phys. 31:1517 (1976).
R.N. Zare, “Angular Momentum,” Chap. 3.4, Wiley, New York (1988).
G. Ezra, “Symmetry Properties of Molecules,” Lecture Notes in Chemistry 28, Springer-Verlag, Berlin (1982).
J.C. Louck, J. Mol. Spec. 61:107 (1976).
C. Eckart, Phys. Rev. 47:552 (1935).
B. Schutz, “Geometrical Methods of Mathematical Physics,” Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1980).
B.T. Sutcliffe in:, “Theoretical Models of Chemical Bonding,” Part 1, Z. Maksić, ed., 1, Springer-Verlag Berlin (1990).
J.K.G. Watson, Mol. Phys. 15:479 (1968).
G. Hunter, Int. J. Quant. Chem. 9:237 (1975).
J. Czub and L. Wolniewicz, Mol. Phys. 36:1301 (1978).
A. Schmelzer and J.N. Murrell, Int. J. Quant. Chem. 28:288 (1985).
M.A. Collins and D.F. Parsons, J. Chem. Phys. 99:6756 (1993).
C. Eckart, Phys. Rev. 46:487 (1934).
J.O. Hirschfelder and E. Wigner, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 21:113 (1935).
B. Buck, L.C. Biedenharn and R.Y. Cusson, Nucl. Phys. A 317:215 (1979).
J.D. Louck and H.W. Galbraith, Rev. Mod. Phys. 48:69 (1976).
R.S. Berry, Rev. Mod. Phys. 32:447 (1960).
M.S. Reeves and E.R. Davidson, J. Chem. Phys. 95:6651 (1991).
H.C. Longuet-Higgins, Molec. Phys. 6:445 (1963).
P.R. Bunker, “Molecular Symmetry and Spectroscopy,” Academic Press, London (1979).
I.G. Kaplan, “Symmetry of Many-Electron Systems,” Academic Press, London (1975).
J. Maruani and J. Serre, eds., “Symmetries and Properties of Non-Rigid Molecules,” Elsevier, Amsterdam (1983).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1996 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Sutcliffe, B.T. (1996). Molecular Shape. In: Gans, W., Amann, A., Boeyens, J.C.A. (eds) Fundamental Principles of Molecular Modeling. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0212-2_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0212-2_2
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-0214-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-0212-2
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive