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Preface Chemical dynamics is a field poised at the intersection between chemistry and physics, relying on sophisticated experimental and theoretical techniques to answer, in rich quantum mechanical detail, the most basic questions one can ask about the dynamics of fundamental chemical reactions, questions such as: What are the products in a given reaction or photochemical process? Which part of a molecule is most reactive? What approach geometries are important? Where does the energy go in a reaction? How is the angular momentum distributed in the products?. The importance of questions such as these lies in their general nature and the deep understanding that the answers can provide. Practical chemical systems, from planetary atmospheres to automobile engines, all feature a vast array of elementary reactions involving large and complex molecules, and these systems are far too numerous to be modeled in detailed from first principles. A predictive understanding of macroscopic chemical systems thus can only be built upon a foundation of knowledge of the general trends and underlying principles governing these phenomena. Chemical dynamics is the field that builds this foundation. As mentioned above, it is an effort largely driven by technological advances: as new experimental and theoretical methods emerge, advances in understanding inevitab ly follow. Molecular beam methods and universal mass spectrometric detection represent the initial advance that defined the pioneering efforts in the 1960s and 1970s; laser methods have played a crucial role since the early 1970s, culminating with the 1999 Nobel Prize for femtochemistry; and imaging methods are now driv ing new advances in the field in several key areas. th
The symposium on Imaging in Chemical Dynamics at the 212 National American Chemical Society (ACS) Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, brought together researchers from around the world to discuss current state-of-the-art applications of imaging techniques in chemical dynamics. As the presentations at the symposium and the 21 chapters in this volume indicate, imaging methods have provided important insights into diverse phenomena in chemical reaction dynamics. Although a large number of the experimental studies presented here are based on CCD-camera ion-imaging methods, a number of contributions use eventwise three-dimensional methods appropriate for coincidence measurements. A driving force behind the organization of this symposium was a desire to bring the scientists using these distinct approaches together for an exchange of ideas and problems. In that regard, this symposium follows the 1993 "Workshop on Imaging Methods" held at Neve Ilan, Israel, organized by George McBane and Daniel Zajfman, and attended by some 44 researchers from around the world. This symposium at the 212 A C S National Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, was the next international meeting specifically intended to bring together researchers using imaging methods for the study of chemical dynamics. The purpose of this volume is to showcase these advances, provide a useful reference for those entering the th
xi Suits and Continetti; Imaging in Chemical Dynamics ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2000.
field, and foster new developments and new directions. We believe that the book provides a timely snapshot of the development of this important tool in modern chemical dynamics.
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Acknowledgments We thank Professor G . C. Schatz for the invitation to organize an A C S Symposium on this topic, and the Petroleum Research Fund of the A C S for grantin-aid number 33793-SE in support of this symposium. We also thank Anne Wilson and Kelly Dennis of the A C S Editorial Staff for their help in producing this volume. Finally, we wish to thank all of the authors for their stimulating contributions. A R T H U R G . SUITS
Chemical Sciences Division, M S 6-2100 Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley, C A 94720 R O B E R T E. CONTINETTI
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, 0314 University of California at San Diego 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, CA 92093-0314
xii Suits and Continetti; Imaging in Chemical Dynamics ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2000.
