Four determinants of the ground-state electronic structure of matter: The only quantum mechanics that's needed in general chemistry

CHED 407

Christopher E. D. Chidsey, chidsey@stanford.edu, Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94122
The conventional general chemistry curriculum is overly axiomatic and overloaded with concepts. The quantum mechanical component of the curriculum should be pruned to those concepts needed to model the following observable properties of the electronic ground state of matter: (i) the density of condensed matter and the mass distribution within atoms, (ii) the electron attachment energies of ions and atoms, (iii) the geometries and lengths of bonds, and (iv) the atom combination energies of molecules and materials. In order of importance, the four determinants of electronic structure needed to model these properties are: (i) the electrostatic energy of interaction among electrons and nuclei, (ii) the localization energy of electrons, (iii) the exclusion of more than two electrons from each electron domain, and (iv) the phasing within domains to allow their overlap.