book reviews Orbllal and Electron Denslty Dlagrarns: An Appllcallon ot Computer Graphlcs Andrew Streitwieser, Jr., University of California, Berkeley, and Peter H. Owens, College of San Mateo. The Macmillan Company, New York, London, 1975. xiv 159 pp. Figs. and tables. 28 X 21.5 em. $7.95.
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By contrast to most supplements for undergraduate curricula, this hook is truly "something completely different." The authors have prepared a collection of handsome computer-plotted surfaces which visually bring to life the electron density distributions in atomic orbitals and in molecular orbitals 01 a carefully selerted set of mdeeule~.The authors' dated goal of provrd~nga supplement iur the entire college chemistry curriculum has been achieved. Indeed, the h k not only will be tand already has hem! helpful to freshman through po&doctoral eh&ists, but would make a handsome addition toany living-room coffee table! The book is an introduction to atomic and molecular orbital theory which make8 full use of the maxim: "a graphic representation is worth 1K bytes." By inspecting the plots of electron density in hydrogenic orbitals (Is through 4f!), the beginning student will be given an immediate feeling for the meaning of orbitals without acquiring the misconceptions that are often fostered by the use of a circle for a 1s orbital, or a dumbbell for a 2p
A184 / Journal of Chemical E h t i o n
orbital. The authors do. however. show the relationshipa between their 3D plok, and the more common contour diagrams. The accompanyingtext is lucid and con& and should be readable by both the novice and the expert. Those who have heard art historians describe Indian sculoture will enjoy reading the description of the "sheer elifflike falloffs" in electron density near a nodal surface as well as other picturesque fantasies. Plots of the molecular orbitals of diatomice (Hz through - LiF) demonstrate the LCAO idea, and introduce o,r,and lone pair orhitah. The difficulties in definine "ionic" versus "covalent" hondmg arp demonstrated hy the UJP of atomic and ionic difference pluu. N?, CO, and simple organics (acetylene through cyclapropane) are discussed in detail, and intermediate students, as well as practicing chemists brought up in a less theoretical era, should gain a real appreciation for the conceots ofdeloealized and localized dexriotions of honding, hyhridizatim, electron-deficient bondmg, and hund polarity. Finally, d m cetylene is given as an example of a eanjugated polyene, and HCN.HF demonstrates the hydrogen bond. Electron density plots have been appearing more frequently in this J o u m l in recent years, and their pedagogical value can hardly be under suspicion. The examples in this book are ideal as an introduction to atomic and molecular orbital theory. The text is on a par with the discussion by Pimentel and Spratley "Chemical Bonding Clarified Through Quantum Mechanics" (HoldenDay, 1969), while the drawings are esthetically far superior to Jorgenson and Salem's
in "The Organic Chemist's Book of Orbitals" (Academic Press. 1973). The latter will. however, he a superb teat to use with ad: vanred organic students who have mastered Streitweiser and Owens. There are so many supplements to undergraduate courses available taday that one can hardly recommend purchase of even only the goad ones by the student. This book will be useful throughout the curriculum. I t is also heartening that many of these types of diagrams are included in Streitweiser and Heathcork's forthcoming organic text ("Introduction to OraanicChemistry." VacMillan, 1976). hose who cannot wait another minute to see the plots c m find some of them in a research article by J. E. Williams, Jr. and A. Streitweiser, Jr., J. Amer. Chem. Soe., 9 5 2634 (1975). K. N. Houk
Lwisians State University Baton R o w LouisiaM 70803
L. C. Roselanr, Polytechnic of the South Bank, London. John Murraty, London, 1975. xii 251 pp. Figs. and tables. 24.5 X 18.5 an.
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The author has designed this book "primarily for students following contemporary A-level syllabuses in Chemistry and in Physical Science" under the English system, (Continued on page A188)
