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On the non-existence of parallel universes in chemistry

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Abstract

This treatise presents thoughts on the divide that exists in chemistry between those who seek their understanding within a universe wherein the laws of physics apply and those who prefer alternative universes wherein the laws are suspended or ‘bent’ to suit preconceived ideas. The former approach is embodied in the quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM), a theory based upon the properties of a system’s observable distribution of charge. Science is experimental observation followed by appeal to theory that, upon occasion, leads to new experiments. This is the path that led to the development of the molecular structure hypothesis—that a molecule is a collection atoms with characteristic properties linked by a network of bonds that impart a structure—a concept forged in the crucible of nineteenth century experimental chemistry. One hundred and fifty years of experimental chemistry underlie the realization that the properties of some total system are the sum of its atomic contributions. The concept of a functional group, consisting of a single atom or a linked set of atoms, with characteristic additive properties forms the cornerstone of chemical thinking of both molecules and crystals and Dalton’s atomic hypothesis has emerged as the operational theory of chemistry. We recognize the presence of a functional group in a given system and predict its effect upon the static, reactive and spectroscopic properties of the system in terms of the characteristic properties assigned to that group. QTAM gives physical substance to the concept of a functional group.

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Acknowledgments

I wish to thank Professor R. Hoffmann for permission to reproduce his personal correspondence given in the opening paragraph. I am indebted to Professor Vladimir Tsirelson of The Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology, Moscow, for obtaining a copy of Hellmann’s original book printed in Russian, “Kvantovaya Khimiya” (Moscow, 1936) and for his assistance in translating the relevant portions dealing with the virial and ‘Hellmann–Feynman’ theorems. (The Russian version is apparently difficult to access in the west.) I also wish to acknowledge the assistance of Mr. Ivan Vinogradov and Mr. Pavel Kulikov of Professor Ayers’ group at McMaster University, in assisting in the translation of the Russian version of Hellmann’s book. The book was originally written in German and translated into Russian by three PhD students after Professor Hellmann fled to Russia in 1934 to escape the Nazis, where, unfortunately he was later shot as a German spy in 1938.

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    Richard F. W. Bader

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Bader, R.F.W. On the non-existence of parallel universes in chemistry. Found Chem 13, 11–37 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10698-011-9106-0

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