Peter W. Atkins.
Quanta: a handbook of concepts: 2nd edn.
OUP. 1991
Quanta provides a non-mathematical and highly visual
account of the concepts of quantum mechanics.
Entries—ordered alphabetically—range in length
from one paragraph to several pages,
and each describes the physical significance of a topic with simplicity and precision.
Pictorial descriptions and analogies are used to provide insight
into this important area of chemistry,
with additional mathematical details given in boxed sections within the text.
All entries are extensively cross-referenced
and all end with a helpful guide to sources of further information.
This exciting new work continues the tradition of the first edition, which quickly established itself among students and teachers as a rich source of clear, concise explanations of quantum concepts. The text has been completely rewritten and updated, and now includes many more illustrations, an extended bibliography, and numerous new entries. Quanta will be invaluable to students for its brief, non-mathematical summaries of key concepts; to instructors as a source of explanations, illustrations, and references; and to all practising scientists searching for an interesting, accessible account of almost any aspect of quantum chemistry.