For an overview of my research interests see the Salzman page on the Department's Web Site.
On this Web Site we have notes and material on the following topics:
An introduction to Chemical Thermodynamics,
An introduction to
Kinetic Molecular Theory of gases,
An introduction to Chemical Kinetics,
and an elementary introduction to Statistical Thermodynamics,
We also have a brief introduction to "Gaussian" integrals, that is integrals involving the normal bell curve function, and on the error function, ERF(x).
We call this a "dynamic text" because it is easy to fix errors and typos quickly, and to add new material as appropriate.
Index: You can use a search engine, like Google or Yahoo, as an index. All of pages in the dynamic text contain the word "salzmanindex" which does not appear anywhere else on the web. If you search for this word plus the word you are looking for the search engine will pull up all the pages having the word you are looking for. For example, if you want to find "Gibbs Free Energy" search for "Gibbs Free Energy" and "salzmanindex."
The VSEPR method is useful for predicting the shapes of molecules. VSEPR stands for Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion. The best way to get a feel for the shapes of molecules is to work with models. The next best way is to use computer graphics to show the shapes of molecules. We have provided data on a few molecules, some small and some large. You can view these molecules in several different ways and rotate them to get a feel for their shapes.
We also have provided some crystal structures, including diamond, graphite, and the three most common types of cubic one-to-one crystals (NaCl, CsCl, and ZnS).
Here is a collection here of atomic and molecular orbitals (hydrogen atomic orbitals up through 4f), sp, sp2, and sp3 hybrid orbitals, some simple molecular orbitals for the nitrogen molecule, and the six simplest pi molecular orbitals in benzene. All of these can be viewed with the RasMol program (instructions are given for down-loading this program). These orbital graphics - which can be rotated on your screen - will give you a feel for the shapes of the various atomic orbitals, hybrid orbitals, and simple molecular orbitals.
In addition, you can view a limited set of hydrogen atomic orbitals at Professor Kent Wilson's Website at the University of California, San Diego. Select "Physical Chemistry."
There are some very nice pictures of hydrogen atomic orbitals at a site constructed by Dr. Yue-Ling Wong . This site will also lead you into some really neat graphics techniques, if you're interested in such things. (On Dr. Wong's page you get a plot of the orbitals themselves rather than the probability densities. The color indicates the sign of the orbital function. On my page I approximate a surface of constant probability density.)
(Click on the fractal to see it full size.)