Symmetry through the Eyes of a Chemist [antikvár]

Preface This relatively short book surveys the entire field of chemistry from the point of view of symmetry. We present many examples from chemistry as well as from other fields, in order to emphasize the unifying nature of the concepts of symmetry. We hope that all those chemists, both academic and industrial, who take broader perspectives, will benefit from our work. Although this book did not have to be written, we felt the need to write it. We hope that readers will share some of the excitement, aesthetic pleasure and learning that we have experienced during its preparation. In the course of our work we have become ever more conscious of the diverse manifestations of symmetry in chemistry, and in the world at large. We believe that this consciousness will also develop in the reader. Despite its breadth, our book was not intended to be comprehensive or to be a specialized treatise in any specific area. Rather, after acquiring a broad perspective, the reader may then refer to the excellent monographs which provide detailed treatments of specialized topics. We ourselves have relied heavily on these monographs and have listed them among the references given at the end of each chapter We would like especially to note here two classics in the literature of symmetry which have strongly influenced us; Weyl's "Symmetry" and Shubnikov and Koptsik's "Symmetry in Science and Art". Our book has a simple structure. After the introduction (Chapter 1), the simplest symmetries are presented using chemical and non-chemical examples (Ch. 2). Molecular geometry is then discussed in qualitative terms (Ch. 3). Group theoretical methods (Ch. 4) are applied in an introductory manner to the symmetries of molecular vibrations (Ch. 5), electronic structure (Ch. 6), and chemical reactions (Ch. 7). These chapters are followed by a descriptive discussion of space-group symmetries (Ch. 8) including the symmetries of crystals (Ch. 9). The general perception of symmetry that most people have is sufficient for reading Chapters 1, 2, 3, 8, and 9. However, in order to appreciate Chapters 5, 6, and 7, the introduction to group theory given in Chapter 4 is necessary. Chapter 4 also deals with antisymmetry. V