Physical Chemistry Commons^™

Rationale For Studying Physical Chemistry, Carl W. David

Chemistry Education Materials

The various rationales for studying physical chemistry, and specifically the theoretical component thereof are presented in what is hoped in a coherent package.

The Harmonic Oscillator's Frobenius Solution, Carl W. David

Chemistry Education Materials

The Frobenius solution to the differential equations associated with the harmonic oscillator (QM) is carried out in detail.

The Hartree-Fock Method Applied To Helium's Electrons, Carl W. David

Chemistry Education Materials

The difficulties of applying the Hartree-Fock method to many body problems is illustrated by treating Helium's electrons up to the point where tractability vanishes. Second, the problem of applying Hartree-Fock methods to the helium atom's electrons, when they are constrained to remain on a sphere, is revisited. The 6-dimensional total energy operator is reduced to a 2-dimensional one, and the application of that 2-dimensional operator in the Hartree-Fock mode is discussed.

Multiple-Choice Testing In Science And Technology Courses, Carl W. David

Chemistry Education Materials

Wide spread and continuing use of multiple-choice testing in technical subjects is leading to a mindset amongst students which is antithetical with actual use of intellect.

L'Hopital's Rule In Chemistry: Irreversible Morphing Into Reversible Isothermal Expansions, Carl W. David

Chemistry Education Materials

L'Hopital's Rule is discussed in the cvase of an irreversible isothermal expansion.

Mo Visualization Of Pi Orbitals, Carl W. David

Chemistry Education Materials

In the spirit of trying to convert people to understanding atomic orbitals centered elsewhere than the origin, we continue the discussion of visualizing molecular orbitals, so called LCAO-MO, using various plotting tricks in Maple.

A Review Of Helium Hamiltonians, Carl W. David

Chemistry Education Materials

Helium Hamiltonian transformations are discussed in extreme detail.

Lee O Case's "Elements Of The Phase Rule", Introduction And Explanation, Carl W. David

Chemistry Education Materials

This out of print 1939 manuscript, updated, is added to the literature with slight additions

The Runge0lenz Vector (Continued), Carl W. David

Chemistry Education Materials

We continue our discussion of the Runge-Lenz vector in a quantum mechanical context. The traditional form of the Runge-Lenz vector is obtained, and the commutation relations between the Runge-Lenz vector, the Hamiltonian, and the Angular Momentum are obtained using Maple.

Lee O Case's "Elements Of The Phase Rule", Chapter 2, Carl W. David

Chemistry Education Materials

The second chapter of the Case text on the phase rule, this time dealing with two component systems, added to by the author, is presented here.

Triatomic Molecular Orbitals, Carl W. David

Chemistry Education Materials

If elementary Quantum Chemistry stops at diatomic molecules, some students may be left with false impressions concerning how one builds polyatomic molecule's LCAO-MOs. This reading discusses building such molecular orbitals from atomic orbitals centered at different spatial coordinates.

Continued Fraction Solutions To Hermite's, Legendre's And Laguerre's Differential Equation, Carl W. David

Chemistry Education Materials

The continued fraction method for solving differential equations is illustrated using three famous differential equations used in quantum chemistry.

More Than You Ever Cared To Know About Solution Thermodynamics, Carl W. David

Chemistry Education Materials

These readings are a compendium of earlier works put together and corrected for errors. The subject is solution thermodynamics, based on the one dimensional binary solution as "extended" to three dimensions.

Carnot Cycles: Traditional And Stefan Boltzmann, And The First Planck Argument, Carl W. David

Chemistry Education Materials

The Stefan Boltzmann equation is obtained using a non-traditional Carnot Engine. In addition, the original Planck argument for radiation density is given.

Lee O. Case's "Elements Of The Phase Rule", Chapter 1, One Component Systems, Carl W. David

Chemistry Education Materials

One component systems are treated from the point of view of the Gibbs' phase rule.

Lee O Case's "Elements Of The Phase Rule", Chapter 3, Carl W. David

Chemistry Education Materials

This is the last (third) chapter of the phase rule text, again altered by the author, addressing 3 and 4 compnent systems.

The Birge Sponer Extrapolation, Carl W. David

Chemistry Education Materials

The Birge Sponer extrapolation is explained using examples.

Parameterizing A Simple Potential Energy Function Appropriate For Vibrational Frequencies Using Molecular Dynamics, Carl W. David

Chemistry Education Materials

A Maple scheme for quickly parameterizing vibrational potential energy functions is presented. As an example, the potential energy function's parameters for the vibrational motions in H_2O_2 are obtained assuming the simplest potential energy function.

This paper was originally written as a research paper, but rejected by the referees. It is therefore being edited into an ``educational'' paper for student usage.