Physical Chemistry

Physical Chemistry covers the session lectures presented at the 26th International Congress of Pure and Applied Chemistry, held in Tokyo, Japan on 4-10 September 1977. The book focuses on the processes, reactions, properties, and transformations of molecules, including energy transfer and spectroscopy. The selection first discusses the applications of lasers in chemical spectroscopy and dynamics; microwave spectral studies of interstellar molecules; and molecular reaction dynamics by the crossed molecular beam technique. The text also reviews the chemical applications of ionizing excited atom-molecule collisions, including penning ionization by metastables and non-metastables, ionization in collisions with high-N-Rydberg atoms, and true associative ionization. The manuscript examines the picosecond time-resolved measurements of vibrational energy transfer and relaxation phenomena in large polyatomic molecules and microwave spectroscopy of short-lived molecules. The text also ponders on the electronic structures of aromatic hydrocarbons with high spin multiplicities in the electronic ground state and non-stoichiometry and structural disorder in inorganic compounds. The selection is a dependable reference for chemists and readers interested in pure and applied chemistry.