The Americans, the Germans, and the Beginnings of Quantum Chemistry: The Confluence of Diverging Traditions

Gavroglu, Kostas; Simões, Ana

doi:10.2307/27757735

Cited by 50 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Sociologically, this was expressed by the cooperative efforts in our cases. Simões and Gavroglu described the differences between the early German and American quantum chemistry schools in terms of the main character's relationship with chemistry, finding that the German quantum chemistry community consisted of physicists, while the Americans of chemists (Gavroglu and Simões 1994). Our cases showed that in the European continent, including Germany fruitful cooperation was established between the two fields.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 68%

“…This procedure combined theoretical, quantum physical calculations with empirical data of chemistry, instead of sticking to the physical goals of deriving chemistry from first principles. Simões and Gavroglu argued that Pauling and Mullikan started a non-reductionist, chemistry-oriented version of quantum chemistry that was rooted in the American pragmatism (Simões 2003;Simões and Gavroglu 2001;Gavroglu and Simões 1994).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Early impact of quantum physics on chemistry: George Hevesy’s work on rare earth elements and Michael Polanyi’s absorption theory

Gábor

2011

Found Chem

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After Heitler and London published their pioneering work on the application of quantum mechanics to chemistry in 1927, it became an almost unquestioned dogma that chemistry would soon disappear as a discipline of its own rights. Reductionism felt victorious in the hope of analytically describing the chemical bond and the structure of molecules. The old quantum theory has already produced a widely applied model for the structure of atoms and the explanation of the periodic system. This paper will show two examples of the entry of quantum physics into more classical fields of chemistry: inorganic chemistry and physical chemistry. Due to their professional networking, George Hevesy and Michael Polanyi found their ways to Niels Bohr and Fritz London, respectively, to cooperate in solving together some problems of classical chemistry. Their works on rare earth elements and adsorption theory throws light to the application of quantum physics outside the reductionist areas. They support the heuristic and persuasive value of quantum thinking in the 1920-1930s. Looking at Polanyi's later oeuvre, his experience with adsorption theory could be a starting point of his non-justificationist philosophy.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 68%

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confidence: 99%

Early impact of quantum physics on chemistry: George Hevesy’s work on rare earth elements and Michael Polanyi’s absorption theory

Gábor

2011

Found Chem

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“…For a recent example, see Hettema 2012. A significant number of historians and philosophers of chemistry hold that the applicability of quantum mechanics does not imply reduction, see Gavroglu and Simões 1994, Harris 2008, Scerri 1994, Schweber 1990, Simões 2003 could interrupt the computation, plug in experimentally obtained values for these terms, and then resume the procedure to compute other terms from there. This approach is usually called semiempirical, and it avoided the impasse of the first approach.…”

Section: Semi-empirical Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autonomy and Automation: Computational Modeling, Reduction, and Explanation in Quantum Chemistry

Lenhard

2014

Monist

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preprint abstract This paper discusses how computational modeling combines the autonomy of models with the automation of computational procedures. In particular, the case of ab initio methods in quantum chemistry will be investigated to draw two lessons from the analysis of computational modeling. The first belongs to general philosophy of science: Computational modeling faces a trade-off and enlarges predictive force at the cost of explanatory force. The other lesson is about the philosophy of chemistry: The methodology of computational modeling puts into doubt claims about the reduction of chemistry to physics.

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“…Empirical data really aroused Pauling's creativity and guided him to adapt his quantum work. By applying the rules for the electron-pair bond, Pauling removed the apparent incompatibility between chemistry and quantum theory (Gavroglu & Simões, 1994). Pauling answered more directly the concerns of the chemists by stressing the three-dimensional structure of molecules, the electrons being the bonding officers of the atoms.…”

Section: The Integration Of Thermodynamics Into Chemical Grounds: Fromentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role and the Status of Thermodynamics in Quantum Chemistry Calculations

Jean-Pierre¹

2011

Thermodynamics - Interaction Studies - Solids, Liquids and Gases

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The Americans, the Germans, and the Beginnings of Quantum Chemistry: The Confluence of Diverging Traditions

Cited by 50 publications

References 44 publications

Early impact of quantum physics on chemistry: George Hevesy’s work on rare earth elements and Michael Polanyi’s absorption theory

Early impact of quantum physics on chemistry: George Hevesy’s work on rare earth elements and Michael Polanyi’s absorption theory

Autonomy and Automation: Computational Modeling, Reduction, and Explanation in Quantum Chemistry

The Role and the Status of Thermodynamics in Quantum Chemistry Calculations

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