"Mathematics
in Chemistry"
By
Abstract: From
antiquity to about 150 years ago, chemistry was considered to be an
experimental science that has no use for mathematics and physics. This changed
in the second half of the nineteenth century with the advent of physical
chemistry. An even more dramatic change occurred after the discovery of the
electron at the end of the nineteenth century. Within 30 years quantum
mechanics was worked out with the result that the whole of chemistry can be
predicted from these equations, at least in principle. Of course it was clear
to the theoretical physicists at the time that there
was no way to actually solve the equations and the twentieth century was spend
by theoretical physicists and finally theoretical chemists to find approximate
methods of sufficient accuracy to tackle problems in chemistry. I will give a
short glimpse into the most important of these approximations, the Hartree-Fock method and then show examples for applications
of theory in chemistry.
Date: Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Time: 15.40-16.30
Place: Mathematics Seminar Room,
SA-141
All are most cordially invited.
Tea and biscuits: after the seminar