Roald Hoffmann - Böcker

Throughout its long history, and not just as the key aesthetic category for the Romantic Movement, the sublime has created the necessary link between aesthetic and moral judgment, offering the prospect of transcending the limits of measurement, even imagination. The best of science makes genuine claims to the sublime. For in science, as in art, every day brings the entirely new, the extreme, and the unrepresentable. How does one depict negative mass, for example, or the folding of a protein that is contagious? Can one capture emergent phenomena as they emerge? Science is continually faced with describing that which is beyond. This book, through contributions from nine prominent scholars, tackles that challenge. The explorations within Beyond the Finite range from the images taken by the Hubble Telescope to David Bohm's quantum romanticism, from Kant and Burke to a "downward spiraling infinity" of the 21st century sublime, all lucid yet transcendent. Squarely positioned at the interface between science and art, this volume's chapters capture a remarkable variety of perspectives, with neuroscience, chemistry, astronomy, physics, film, painting and music discussed in relation to the sublime experience, topics surely to peak the interest of academics and students studying the sublime in various disciplines.

Positioned at the crossroads of the physical and biological sciences, chemistry deals with neither the infinitely small, nor the infinitely large, nor directly with life. So it is sometimes thought of as dull, the way things in the middle often are. But this middle ground is precisely where human beings exist. As Hoffmann shows in his inspired prose, the world observed at its molecular level is complex and agitated, as are the emotions of the supposedly dispassionate scientists who explore it. In The Same and Not the Same the vital tensions of chemistry are revealed; with down-to-earth explanations, Hoffmann uncovers the polarities that power, rend, and reform the world of molecules. When we wash an apple before eating it, we are thinking not merely of the dirt that may still be on it but of the pesticides used in agricultural production. When we take medication, we expect relief for our pain but also fear side effects. The Same and Not the Same shows this ambivalence to be only one of a number of dualities pervading the world of molecules. The theme of identity, reflected in the title of the book, is central to the story.Other dualities, from stasis and dynamics, to creation and discovery to the rich complexity of revealing and concealing, are lucidly delineated for nonscientist and scientist alike. The Same and Not the Same also offers a rare and compelling personal statement of the social responsibility of scientists. Unabashedly confronting some of the major ethical controversies in chemistry today, the book strives for balance in facing the pressing ecological and environmental concerns of our time.

Positioned at the crossroads of the physical and biological sciences, chemistry deals with neither the infinitely small, nor the infinitely large, nor directly with life. So it is sometimes thought of as dull, the way things in the middle often are. But this middle ground is precisely where human beings exist. As Hoffmann shows in his inspired prose, the world observed at its molecular level is complex and agitated, as are the emotions of the supposedly dispassionate scientists who explore it. In The Same and Not the Same the vital tensions of chemistry are revealed; with down-to-earth explanations, Hoffmann uncovers the polarities that power, rend, and reform the world of molecules. When we wash an apple before eating it, we are thinking not merely of the dirt that may still be on it but of the pesticides used in agricultural production. When we take medication, we expect relief for our pain but also fear side effects. The Same and Not the Same shows this ambivalence to be only one of a number of dualities pervading the world of molecules. The theme of identity, reflected in the title of the book, is central to the story.Other dualities, from stasis and dynamics, to creation and discovery to the rich complexity of revealing and concealing, are lucidly delineated for nonscientist and scientist alike. The Same and Not the Same also offers a rare and compelling personal statement of the social responsibility of scientists. Unabashedly confronting some of the major ethical controversies in chemistry today, the book strives for balance in facing the pressing ecological and environmental concerns of our time.

This unique book shows how chemistry and physics come together in the solid state and on surfaces. Using a lively, graphic, descriptive approach, it teaches chemists the language that is necessary to understand the electronic structure of extended systems. And, at the same time, it demonstrates how a chemical, frontier-orbital, approach to solid state and surface bonding and reactivity may be constructed. The book begins with the language of crystal orbitals, band structures and densities of states. The tools for moving back from the highly delocalized orbitals of the solid are then built up in a transparent manner; they include decompositions of the densities of states and crystal orbital overlap populations. Using these tools, the book shapes a meeting ground between detailed quantum mechanical calculations and a chemical frontier orbital perspec- tive. Applications include a general picture of chemisorption, bond-breaking and making in the solid state, bonding in metals, the electronic structure of selected conducting and supercon- ducting structures, dissociation, migration and coupling on surfaces and the forces controlling deformation of extended systems.

This unique book shows how chemistry and physics come together in the solid state and on surfaces. Using a lively, graphic, descriptive approach, it teaches chemists the language that is necessary to understand the electronic structure of extended systems. And, at the same time, it demonstrates how a chemical, frontier-orbital, approach to solid state and surface bonding and reactivity may be constructed. The book begins with the language of crystal orbitals, band structures and densities of states. The tools for moving back from the highly delocalized orbitals of the solid are then built up in a transparent manner; they include decompositions of the densities of states and crystal orbital overlap populations. Using these tools, the book shapes a meeting ground between detailed quantum mechanical calculations and a chemical frontier orbital perspec- tive. Applications include a general picture of chemisorption, bond-breaking and making in the solid state, bonding in metals, the electronic structure of selected conducting and supercon- ducting structures, dissociation, migration and coupling on surfaces and the forces controlling deformation of extended systems.

What motivates a scientist? One key factor is the pressure from the competition to be the first to discover something new. The moral consequences of this are the subject of the play "Oxygen", dealing with the discovery of this all-important element. The focus of the play is on chemical and political revolutions, as well as the Nobel Prize, which will be awarded for the 100th time in 2001. The action takes place in 1777 and 2001; and the play is written for 3 actors and 3 actresses who play a total of 11 characters. The world premiere will take place in early 2001 in San Diego, and the German premiere in September.The world-famous authors Carl Djerassi and Roald Hoffmann are a guarantee of excellence and suspense, both in their role as scientists -- Carl Djerassi is known as the "Father of the Pill" while Roald Hoffmann received the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1982 - as well as in their role as authors -- Djerassi has written several successful novels, while Hoffmann is renowned for his poetry.

What motivates a scientist? One key factor is the pressure from the competition to be the first to discover something new. The moral consequences of this are the subject of the play "Oxygen", dealing with the discovery of this all-important element. The focus of the play is on chemical and political revolutions, as well as the Nobel Prize, which will be awarded for the 100th time in 2001. The action takes place in 1777 and 2001; and the play is written for 3 actors and 3 actresses who play a total of 11 characters. The world premiere will take place in early 2001 in San Diego, and the German premiere in September.The world-famous authors Carl Djerassi and Roald Hoffmann are a guarantee of excellence and suspense, both in their role as scientists -- Carl Djerassi is known as the "Father of the Pill" while Roald Hoffmann received the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1982 - as well as in their role as authors -- Djerassi has written several successful novels, while Hoffmann is renowned for his poetry.