Subject: CCL: orbitals and reality

From: "Cherif Matta" <mattacf ~~ univmail.cis.mcmaster.ca>
Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2005 12:51:23 -0500

Dear CCL Colleagues,

I must personally thank Dr. Sengen Sun for initiating this very
interesting discussion.  I beleive that this is the type of discourse
we should have on CCL. I m hereby adding my small contribution to this
debate.

I would like to draw your attention to a couple of very interesting
papers by Professor Richard Bader.  In these articles "Molecular
Orbital Theory", which is one of the most significant pilars of
chemical theory, is contrasted with "Orbitals" or "orbital models".

In case you are interested, here are the references:

(1) Bader R. F. W.  "Letter to the editor: Quantum mechanics, or
orbitals?". Int. J. Quantum Chem.;  2003, 94,  173-177.

(2) Bader R. F. W., Popelier P. L. A., Keith T. A.  "Theoretical
definition of a functional group and the molecular orbital paradigm".
 Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl.;  1994, 33,  620-631.

Wish you all very well,

Cherif

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Cherif F. Matta, Ph.D., MCIC
* Adjunct Professor of Chemistry 
  McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
* Izaak Walton Killam Post Doctoral Fellow
  Department of Chemistry, Dalhousie University
  Halifax, NS, Canada.
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* Web site:  http://chem.utoronto.ca/~cmatta/
  Tel: (902) 494 7021      Fax: (902) 494 1310
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