Page 12 - MODERN ELECTROCHEMISTRY

PREFACE

The textbook Modern Electrochemistry by Bockris and Reddy originated in the needs
of students at the Energy Conversion Institute of the University of Pennsylvania in the
late 1960s. People trained in various disciplines from mathematics to biology wanted
to understand the new high-energy-density storage batteries and the doubling of the
efficiency of energy conversion offered by fuel cells over heat engines. The task was
to take a group that seemed to be above average in initiative and present electrochem-
istry well enough to meet their needs.
The book turned out to be a great success. Its most marked characteristic
was—is—lucidity. The method used was to start off at low level and then move up in
a series of very small steps. Repetition is part of the technique and does not offend,
for the lesson given each time is the same but is taught differently.
The use of the book spread rapidly beyond the confines of energy conversion
groups. It led to the recognition of physical electrochemistry—the electrochemical
discipline seen from its roots in physics and physical chemistry, and not as a path to
superior chemical analysis. The book outlined electrochemical science for the first
time in a molecular way, paying due heed to thermodynamics as bedrock but keeping
it as background. The success of the effort has been measured not only by the total
sales but by the fact that another reprinting had to be made in 1995, 25 years after the
first one. The average sales rate of the first edition is even now a dozen copies a month!
Given this background, the challenge of writing a revised edition has been a
memorable one. The changes in the state of electrochemical science in the quarter
century of the book’s life have been broad and deep. Techniques such as scanning
tunneling microscopy enable us to see atoms on electrodes. Computers have allowed
a widespread development of molecular dynamics (MD) calculations and changed the
balance between informed guesses and the timely adjustment of parameters in force
laws to enable MD calculations to lead to experimental values. The long-postponed
introduction of commercial electric cars in the United States has been realized and is
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