Customer Reviews

Quantum Chemistry, Third Edition

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm currently finishing up a self-directed course on quantum chemistry. My two principle sources are Lowe's book and Levine's book, and I find that the combination works fairly well. Unlike Levine, Lowe is not a precise writer and often skips details. I have also found mathematical and conceptual mistakes in some parts. You might not notice them in a quick read through but under close scrutiny they present a problem. He's definitely more a chemist than a physicist... The end result is that if I try to read his book first, I inevitably become confused. However, where he shines is in bringing together the big picture in words *once you've already understood the details*. Thus my typical strategy is to read Levine to get a wonderfully detailed and accurate lesson, and then read the same topic in Lowe to bring it all together. If I had to buy only one, Levine is definitely the way to go.

Assumes little mathematical sophistication. Excellent book for the beginning student of quantum chemistry. Suitable for junior/senior undergraduate or beginning graduate students. Contains a wealth of practice exercises with detailed answers to most. The latter part of the book is concerned with practical applications of quantum chemistry with an excellent and readable introduction to modern computational methods. Helps students get a practical and qualitative feel for quantum chemistry and provides an excellent foundation on which to base later study.

Covers quantum basics, group theory, Hartree-Fock-based approximations, MO/AO theory and applications to periodic systems to name but a few of the well-chosen topics.

I am perhaps marginally biased towards Lowe's book, I used it as an undergraduate taking graduate quantum chem with a very fine lecturer. Lowe's book is intended for a general introduction to quantum chemistry & molecular orbital theory - this is a book that will be kept and used even by those chemists who are not physical and/or theoretical chemists. He emphasizes the basics and physical understanding over developing the material in a more pure mathematical fashion. As for the list of errors that the previous reviewer mentioned, I can only wonder if those same errors were the ones corrected on the errata sheet that was handed out to me in class. As I'm finally in graduate school taking quantum again, we're using Levine's text as well as Fayer's text. I think Lowe has prepared me beautifully by having instilled the big picture in my head.

If you're really serious about your Q.M., you'd supplement with a physics text anyway (Shankar, Merzbacher, Liboff, etc). But that's more for clearing up the physics details than anything else, IMHO.

If you are looking for an introductory text for Quantum Chemistry, well, here it is. Lowe understands something very important about writing introductory texts, something that most authors don't grasp. That being that an introductory text isn't simply a book that talks about the foundations of the given subject, but also speaks to someone who is inexperienced in the subject. Lowe has this down to almost an art; most subjects are sufficiently explained with little fluff or unneccesary technical jargon. The book isn't quite as expanse as say, McQuarrie's Physical Chemistry, but what is? The essentials are explained with the neccesary depth and any mathematics involved are explained in the Appendices. The book stumbles when Lowe tries to explain more qualitative ideas, like LCAO. Without the structure of mathematics, the book seems to falter quite a bit. After several readings, I still had no idea what Lowe was talking about in the latter sections of chapter 7. Neverless, this is a pretty strong text.

I used this book for guided independent study in my senior year as a Chemical Engineering undergraduate.

To learn from this book is easy. Lowe does a great job integrating the mathematics into his work. Some authors tend to get bogged down in math, and others (in my mind incorrectly) insist that you don't need to understand the math to understand quantum chemistry. Lowe strikes the right balance and shows what the mathematics mean, chemically. Additionally, the excercises are well written and useful. Including solutions to some of the excercises is a must for a book of this level, and I'm glad to see it done here.

Two complaints: Some color diagrams would make for easier visualization of some of the more difficult topics...and more efforts at introducing computer software commonly used in quantum chemistry (eg. Gaussian) would have been nice.

All in all, a good book, much better than most quantum chemistry texts available.