History and Relevance
The first theoretical study of the water dimer was an ab initio calculation published in 1968 by Morokuma and Pedersen. Since then, the water dimer has been the focus of sustained interest by theoretical chemists concerned with hydrogen bonding—a search of the CAS database up to 2006 returns over 1100 related references (73 of them in 2005). The water dimer is a hotly studied topic in Physical Chemistry for several reasons. (H2O)2 is thought to play a significant role in many atmospheric processes, including acid rain formation, absorption of excess solar radiation, condensation of water droplets, and chemical reactions. In addition, a complete understanding of the water dimer is thought to play a key role in a more thorough understanding of hydrogen bonding in liquid and solid forms of water.
Read more about this topic: Water Dimer
Famous quotes containing the words history and/or relevance:
“Considered in its entirety, psychoanalysis won’t do. It’s an end product, moreover, like a dinosaur or a zeppelin; no better theory can ever be erected on its ruins, which will remain for ever one of the saddest and strangest of all landmarks in the history of twentieth-century thought.”
—Peter B. Medawar (1915–1987)
“Wherever the relevance of speech is at stake, matters become political by definition, for speech is what makes man a political being.”
—Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)