This second edition was first published in 1959. The first four chapters present a compact elementary account of classical and modern conceptions of valency, suitable for the more general reader and for students preparing for university examinations. The concluding chapters are more advanced: chapter five shows how the electronic theory is applied to the heavier elements and their principal compounds; and the last chapter is devoted to current developments, and theories still in their early stages.

The concept of an ontological category is central to metaphysics. Metaphysicians argue about which category an object should be assigned to, whether one category can be reduced to another one, or whether there might be different equally adequate systems of categorization. Answers to these questions presuppose a clear understanding of what precisely an ontological category is, an issue which is rarely addressed; Jan Westerhoff presents the first in-depth analysis both of the use made of ontological categories in the metaphysical literature, and of various attempts at defining them. He also develops a new theory of ontological categories which implies that there will be no unique system, and that the ontological category an object belongs to is not an essential property of that object. Systems of ontological categories are structures imposed on the world, rather than reflections of a deep metaphysical reality already present. All metaphysicians should find Westerhoff's book highly stimulating.

Comparative Inorganic Chemistry, Third Edition focuses on the developments in comparative inorganic chemistry, including properties of elements and the structure of their atoms, electronic configuration of atoms of elements, and the electronic theory of valency. The manuscript first offers information on the development of fundamental ideas in 19th century chemistry, as well as purification and identification of substances in the laboratory; classical arguments for the existence of atoms and molecules; and electrolytes, ions, and electrons. The book also takes a look at the properties of elements and the structure of their atoms. The classification of elements in the 19th century, atomic nucleus, divisible atoms, nuclear reactions and fusions, and artificial radioactivity and nuclear transmutations are discussed. The book examines the electronic theory of valency and periodic classification, including basic assumptions of the electronic theory, hydration of ions, ionic bond and the formation of ions, and the development of the concept of valency. The manuscript also ponders on bonding and the structures displayed by elements and their compounds; oxidation, reduction, and electrochemical processes; and the principles on the extraction of elements. The publication is a dependable source of information for chemists and readers interested in inorganic chemistry.

This classic exposition explores the origins of chemistry, alchemy, early medical chemistry, nature of atmosphere, theory of valency, laws and structure of atomic theory, and much more.

The evolution of a discipline at the intersection of physics, chemistry, and mathematics. Quantum chemistry—a discipline that is not quite physics, not quite chemistry, and not quite applied mathematics—emerged as a field of study in the 1920s. It was referred to by such terms as mathematical chemistry, subatomic theoretical chemistry, molecular quantum mechanics, and chemical physics until the community agreed on the designation of quantum chemistry. In Neither Physics Nor Chemistry, Kostas Gavroglu and Ana Simões examine the evolution of quantum chemistry into an autonomous discipline, tracing its development from the publication of early papers in the 1920s to the dramatic changes brought about by the use of computers in the 1970s. The authors focus on the culture that emerged from the creative synthesis of the various traditions of chemistry, physics, and mathematics. They examine the concepts, practices, languages, and institutions of this new culture as well as the people who established it, from such pioneers as Walter Heitler and Fritz London, Linus Pauling, and Robert Sanderson Mulliken, to later figures including Charles Alfred Coulson, Raymond Daudel, and Per-Olov Löwdin. Throughout, the authors emphasize six themes: epistemic aspects and the dilemmas caused by multiple approaches; social issues, including academic politics, the impact of textbooks, and the forging of alliances; the contingencies that arose at every stage of the developments in quantum chemistry; the changes in the field when computers were available to perform the extraordinarily cumbersome calculations required; issues in the philosophy of science; and different styles of reasoning.

When mathematician Hermann Weyl decided to write a book on philosophy, he faced what he referred to as "conflicts of conscience"--the objective nature of science, he felt, did not mesh easily with the incredulous, uncertain nature of philosophy. Yet the two disciplines were already intertwined. In Philosophy of Mathematics and Natural Science, Weyl examines how advances in philosophy were led by scientific discoveries--the more humankind understood about the physical world, the more curious we became. The book is divided into two parts, one on mathematics and the other on the physical sciences. Drawing on work by Descartes, Galileo, Hume, Kant, Leibniz, and Newton, Weyl provides readers with a guide to understanding science through the lens of philosophy. This is a book that no one but Weyl could have written--and, indeed, no one has written anything quite like it since.

This book provides qualitative molecular orbital and valence-bond descriptions of the electronic structures for electron-rich molecules, with strong emphasis given to the valence-bond approach. Electron-rich molecules form an extremely large class of molecules, and the results of quantum mechanical studies from different laboratories indicate that qualitative valence-bond descriptions for many of these molecules are incomplete in so far as they usually omit "long-bond" Lewis structures from elementary descriptions of bonding. For example, the usual representation for the electronic structure of the ground-state for 03 involves resonance between the (+1 o and Until standard Lewis structures ~ ~ (-I . b:'" ~d· . . . . , recently, any contribution to resonance of the "long-bond" (or spin-paired o •• / •• ,. . has been largely ignored. diradica~ Lewis structure However, it :0 . 0. . e-. . . . . ______ " has now been calculated to be a very important structure. For the ground-states of numerous other systems, calculations also indicate that "long-bond" structures are more important than is usually supposed, and therefore they should frequently be included in qualitative valence-bond descriptions of electronic structure. The book describes how this may be done, and some of the resulting consequences for the interpretation of the electronic structure, bond properties and reactivities of various electron-rich molecules. When appropriate, molecular orbital and valence bond descriptions of bonding are compared, and relationships that exist between them are derived.