Stephen K. Scott – författare

The phenomena of oscillations, travelling waves, and chaos in reacting chemical systems began as curiosities but now support an active, international research field. This book shows how these 'exotic' patterns arise from the underlying chemical mechanisms. The origin of 'chemical feedback' is revealed using three example reactions: the iodate-reductant (Landolt) reaction, the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction, and the combustion of hydrogen. Thermal feedback is also discussed. These mechanisms lead to clock reactions and travelling reaction fronts, thermal runaway, and flames; to oscillations and excitability; to target patterns, spiral and scroll waves; to bistability, ignition, extinction, and hysteresis; and to complex oscillations and chaos in flow reactors. These phenomena are related to important processes in biology, including the development of cardiac arrhythmias, nerve signal transmission, and animal coat patterning.

Many first year undergraduate chemistry students are daunted by the mathematical content of their courses. Mathematics in chemistry often presents an obstacle, preventing the student from grasping the chemical concepts and real ideas that lie behind the maths. This excellent workbook will help students to overcome this problem, which cannot be solved with a textbook. It aims to be a mathematics `toolkit' rather than a formal mathematics course. This flexibility allows the student to study alone or in a group. The material covered is taken from examples of first year chemistry courses in approximately 6 x 3 hour sessions, providing a more comfortable and familiar way to learn. This workbook meets the needs of the student and is the best introduction to mathematics in chemistry available.

Designed for first year students at university studying chemistry, and students taking physical chemistry as part of their degree course this Workbook is comprised of eight main sections covering revision of key elements. There are some 68 examples and 139 exercises through which students ability and confidence with tackling quantitative calculations will be developed, beginning with material based on pre-university knowledge through to topics such as chemical equilibrium that feature in first year unversity courses. The important equations are collected together at the end of each section for easy reference and a list of useful mathematical formulae is included. Students can work through the book as self-paced individuals, or in groups, alongside traditional lecture courses.