Reflections on symmetry

About this book

"Heilbronner and Dunitz are both professors of chemistry. Although their book is aimed primarily at scientists, the authors hope it will also appeal to scientists in general, and, indeed, to laymen with an interest in the development of science from its cloudy beginnings to its pervasive influence in modern society. Rather than going into the formal mathematical background, the authors describe how symmetry concepts inherited from the early Greek philosophers began to enter scientific thought. In chemistry, the main impact has been on the development of the molecular hypothesis. Once it became recognized that molecules were just more or less stable arrangements of atoms in space, symmetry concepts began to play an ever increasing role in chemical science - not only in specialist areas such as spectroscopy, crystallography, and theoretical chemistry, but also in the everyday activities of the practical synthetic chemist. Today, chemistry teaching has adapted itself to some extent to this situation. Chemistry students are now often introduced to symmetry concepts at the very beginning of their studies; older chemists may be at a disadvantage in this respect. If they feel that their encounter with symmetry concepts during their student days was inadequate, the present book may help to fill the deficit."--Jacket.