Page 13 - Basic physical chemistry for the atmospheric sciences

Preface

A short account of the origins of this book will explain its purpose. In
the 1 9 70s I coauthored (with John M. Wallace) a textbook for senior
undergraduates and first-year graduate students entitled Atmospheric
Science: An Introductory Survey (Academic Press, 1 9 77). At the time
that text was written it was not considered necessary to include a
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chapter on atmospheric chemistry. By the early 9 90 , when we began
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to think about a second edition of Atmospheric Science, the impor­
tance of atmospheric chemistry was such that it was inconceivable
that such a book would not include a substantial chapter on this
subject.
In the intervening years I had introduced a section on atmospheric
chemistry into the survey course taken by all first-year graduate stu­
dents in the Atmospheric Sciences Department at the University of
Washington. I quickly discovered, however, that many of the students
either had no previous instruction in chemistry or had long since
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forgotten what little they had know . I therefore wrote an (unpub­
lished) primer on physical chemistry for these students; the present
book grew out of that primer.
Reviewed herein are some of the fundamental concepts associated
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with chemical equilibrium, chemical thermodynami s , chemical kinet­
s
ics, aqueous solution , acid-base chemistry, oxidation-reduction re­
i
actions and photochem s try, all of which are essential to an under­
standing of atmospheric chemistry. The approach is primarily from
the macroscopic viewpoint, which provides the tools needed by the
pragmatist. A deeper understanding requires extensive treatment of
the electronic structure of matter and chemical bonding, topics that
are beyond the scope of this introductory text. This book can be used
for either self-instruction, or as the basis for a short introductory class

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