Customer Reviews

Physical Chemistry

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For quite some time now, Peter Atkins has been the worlds leading author in physical chemistry. And for good reason: Atkins is a prolific writer who is obviously deeply in love with his chosen profession.

Like Atkins, Winn loves his chemistry. And his math. And he combines both in a book that is beautiful to behold and read. There used to be a great scientist (can't remember who, right now) who could sniff out the truth by studying the aesthetics of his equations. Winn's book is just like that; it develops chemical and mathematical instinct. That, if anything, is THE reason I recommend this book. Yes, it is a huge volume. But isn't it better to have and not need than vice versa? Yes, its level of rigour is quite high, but it all suits a purpose and is quite instructive. Yes, this book looks intimidating, but you shouldn't judge it by its formidable appearance, should you?

This book is a natural to learn physical chemistry from. Its chapters on quantum chemistry, thermodynamics and statistical thermodynamics are nothing short of sublime.

Finally, without taking anything away from Atkins' enourmous contribution to chemistry education, here we have a book that is at least as good. To be honest, I find myself preferring Winn's book practically all the time. Sadly, this book didn't take off, and is now poorly available. I doubt whether the astronomical amount of effort and love that Winn put into it will ever be recognized or rewarded.

This is one of the best physical chemistry textbooks, with real depth and mathematical rigor. Many of the advanced problems are mini-research problems in reality. The difficulty with this book is that it is really advanced, suitable for advanced undergraduate or even postgraduate students. Physical chemistry usually starts being taught to second year undergraduate students, and for this audience such a deep book is really difficult. Hence the fact that it never became a popular textbook. For people teaching physical chemistry this is however an important and insightful book, the analyses in which cannot be supplemented by quick visits to popular internet sites!

I could have learned phsyical chemistry through first principal experemintation and derivation more easily. Poorly written, poorly executed, and altogether bad