20557 Molecular Dynamics of Chemical Processes
Credits: 4 advanced credits in Chemistry or in Physics
Prerequisites: General Chemistry1 (or General Chemistry I + General Chemistry II, for Biology Students; or General Chemistry I + General Chemistry II), Chemical Kinetics and Differential and Integral Calculus I (or Infinitesimal Calculus I). Students must also fulfill all English requirements and take bibliographic instruction in the Library.
Required: Fundamentals of Physics or both Fundamentals of Physics I and Fundamentals of Physics II
Recommended: Quantum Theory I, Quantum Theory II: The Chemical Bond, Topics in Molecular Spectroscopy
Authors: Tamar Raz, Raphael D. Levine, Itzhak Dotan
Molecular reaction dynamics deals with the study of mechanisms of elementary processes in order to understand what takes place on the molecular level during a chemical or physical process. Molecular dynamics can be used for processes in the gas-phase, in solutions and on surfaces, for clusters. It is not limited to neutral reagents and products but also includes positively and negatively charged species, either in their isolated state or in solution.
Molecular dynamics supplies the basic explanations for numerous reactive systems: from processes taking place in the atmosphere through combustion processes, catalysis and enzymatic activity. As such, it provides tools for understanding all the varied branches of Chemistry. This is a basic course in the language which allows for a molecular point of observation.
Topics: What is molecular dynamics?; Molecular collisions of unstructured particles; Introduction to reactive collisions; Many-body dynamics; Rate constant of chemical reactions; Energy transitions; Chemical activation and control through light; Applications of molecular dynamics.
1or General Chemistry (20477 or 20487), which is no longer offered.