The exceptional quality of previous editions has been built upon to make the twelfth edition of Atkins' Physical Chemistry even more closely suited to the needs of both lecturers and students. The writing style has been refreshed in collaboration with current students of physical chemistry in order to retain the clarity for which the book is recognized while mirroring the way that students read and engage with information.

The new edition is now available as an enhanced e-Book, which offers a richer, more dynamic learning experience. It does this by incorporating digital enhancements that are carefully curated and thoughtfully inserted at meaningful points to enhance the learning experience. In addition, it offers formative auto-graded assessment materials to provide students with regular opportunities to test their understanding.

Digital enhancements introduced for the new edition include dynamic graphs, which students can interact with to explore how the manipulation of variables affects the results of the graphs; self-check questions at the end of every Topic; video content from physical chemists; and video tutorials that accompany the Focus features, which dig deeper into the key equations introduced. There is also a new foundational prologue entitled Energy: A First Look, which summarizes key concepts that are best kept in mind right from the beginning of physical chemistry studies.

The coupling of the broad coverage of the subject with a structure and use of pedagogy that is even more innovative will ensure that Atkins' Physical Chemistry remains the textbook of choice for studying physical chemistry.

In this Very Short Introduction to Chemistry, he encourages us to look at chemistry anew, through a chemist's eyes, in order to understand its central concepts and to see how it contributes not only towards our material comfort, but also to human culture. Atkins shows how chemistry provides the infrastructure of our world, through the chemical industry, the fuels of heating, power generation, and transport, as well as the fabrics of our clothing and furnishings.

By considering the remarkable achievements that chemistry has made, and examining its place between both physics and biology, Atkins presents a fascinating, clear, and rigorous exploration of the world of chemistry - its structure, core concepts, and exciting contributions to new cutting-edge technologies.

ABOUT THE SERIES:
The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

The exceptional quality of previous editions has been built upon to make the twelfth edition of Atkins' Physical Chemistry even more closely suited to the needs of both lecturers and students. The writing style has been refreshed in collaboration with current students of physical chemistry in order to retain the clarity for which the book is recognized while mirroring the way that students read and engage with information.

The new edition is now available as an enhanced e-Book, which offers a richer, more dynamic learning experience. It does this by incorporating digital enhancements that are carefully curated and thoughtfully inserted at meaningful points to enhance the learning experience. In addition, it offers formative auto-graded assessment materials to provide students with regular opportunities to test their understanding.

Digital enhancements introduced for the new edition include dynamic graphs, which students can interact with to explore how the manipulation of variables affects the results of the graphs; self-check questions at the end of every Topic; video content from physical chemists; and video tutorials to accompany the Focus features, which dig deeper into the key equations introduced. There is also a new foundational prologue entitled Energy: A First Look, which summarizes key concepts that are best kept in mind right from the beginning of physical chemistry studies.

The coupling of the broad coverage of the subject with a structure and use of pedagogy that is even more innovative will ensure that Atkins' Physical Chemistry remains the textbook of choice for studying physical chemistry.

Directly addressing the main challenges faced by students, this book's pedagogically rich approach provides an accessible and holistic guide to the subject. The extended scope of this new edition includes the essential techniques that can be used to characterize biological systems, including biochemical spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, and spectrometry.

About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam.

With his typical clarity and hardly a formula in sight, Peter Atkins' Very Short Introduction explores the contributions physical chemistry has made to all branches of chemistry. Providing insight into its central concepts Atkins reveals the cultural contributions physical chemistry has made to our understanding of the natural world.

About the Series:
Oxford's Very Short Introductions series offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects--from Islam to Sociology, Politics to Classics, Literary Theory to History, and Archaeology to the Bible. Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume in this series provides trenchant and provocative--yet always balanced and complete--discussions of the central issues in a given discipline or field. Every Very Short Introduction gives a readable evolution of the subject in question, demonstrating how the subject has developed and how it has influenced society. Eventually, the series will encompass every major academic discipline, offering all students an accessible and abundant reference library. Whatever the area of study that one deems important or appealing, whatever the topic that fascinates the general reader, the Very Short Introductions series has a handy and affordable guide that will likely prove indispensable.

Physical Chemistry for the Life Sciences provides a balanced presentation of the concepts of physical chemistry, and their extensive applications to biology and biochemistry. It is written to straddle the worlds of physical chemistry and the life sciences and to show students how the tools of physical chemistry can elucidate and illuminate biological questions.

Opening with a suite of chapters on Biochemical Thermodynamics, with a focus on energy conversion in biological cells and the factors that stabilize proteins, nucleic acids, and cell membranes, the book goes on to explore the Kinetics of Life Processes, examining the rates of chemical reactions, how rates can help characterise the mechanism of a reaction, and how enzymes affect reaction rates. A third section, Biomolecular Structure, looks at how concepts of physical chemistry can be used to establish those 'rules' that govern the assembly of complex biological structures, while the final section, Biomolecular Spectroscopy, describes the major techniques in biochemistry that are being applied to help us to explore biochemical processes and systems ever further.

Physical Chemistry for the Life Sciences places emphasis on clear explanations of difficult concepts, with an eye toward building insight into biochemical phenomena. An extensive range of learning features, including worked examples, illustrations, self-tests, and case studies, support student learning throughout, while special attention is given to providing extensive help to students with those mathematical concepts and techniques that are so central to a sound understanding of physical chemistry.

Balancing clarity and rigor of exposition of basic concepts with extensive discussion of biological techniques and processes, Physical Chemistry for the Life Sciences is the perfect resource for every life science student who seeks to master those essentials of physical chemistry that underpin life itself.

Online Resource Centre

For students:
- Web links for each chapter, pointing students to interesting sources of related information and data, to facilitate self-directed learning
- A list of key equations for each chapter, to help students revise and master the key mathematical concepts that underpin the subject
- Living graphs, which present graphs from the text in interactive format, and enable students to strengthen their learning by manipulating key variables and exploring the consequeneces
- Three-dimensional, interactive models of the biomolecules appearing in the end-of-book atlas of structures

For registered adopters of the book:
Figures in electronic format

That's the topic of this book. I don't pretend to have all the answers. I'm still learning every day, and many of the good ideas here I've picked up from other people either directly or by reading. But this is what's worked for me.

Like life, this book is short. Many books I read could communicate their ideas in fewer pages. So I've tried to be brief in line with the wise person who noted: If I'd had more time I would have written a shorter letter.

I don't think brevity implies lack of content. The concepts here have improved the quality of my life, and I hope they're useful to you as well.

Using these concepts, I have created a life I love. My job doesn't feel like work. I love and respect the people with whom I spend time. And I'm also passionate about my life outside work. I've learned how to create a balance that makes me happy between work and other interests, including my family, friends and exercise. Sadly I think that's rare. And yet, while I know I'm lucky, most people can work towards those goals in their own lives.

My interest in making the most of my life began when I was just starting college, but when I was in my mid-thirties a boss I admired died of cancer. He was young. He had a great wife; he had three young children; he had a fantastic career -- he had everything in life. He just didn't have enough time. So, while I'd often thought about how to get the most out of life, the death of someone so young and vital increased my sense of urgency to act on it.

One of the things I've always wanted to do was to work for myself. As a result, I left an exciting job at Microsoft in 2001 amidst the Internet bust to found the investing firm I now run. It was hard to do, both financially and emotionally. When I left Microsoft, many people - friends, family, and even some of the press - thought I was deluding myself to start a fund focused on Internet-related companies during a market crash. A press quote from the time said: Call him a little crazy. Call him a little nuts. I'd never seen that type of coverage before. And, in a sense, the press was right; the business wasn't easy to start. Fortunately, from a vantage point of ten years down the road, it's worked out quite well.

A key part of my job is reading and thinking about a broad variety of topics. So writing this book was relatively easy. It's even easier to read. But, like many things in life, actually executing each day on these concepts is extremely difficult. With thanks to Thomas Edison, life is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Even so, I hope you have fun perspiring.

Peter Atkins
Seattle, WA
December, 2010

Peter Atkins considers the minimum effort needed to equip the Universe with its laws and its constants. He explores the origin of the conservation of energy, of electromagnetism, of classical and quantum mechanics, and of thermodynamics, showing how all these laws spring from deep symmetries. The revolutionary result is a short but immensely rich weaving together of the fundamental ideas of physics. With his characteristic wit, erudition, and economy, Atkins sketches out how the laws of Nature can spring from very little. Or arguably from nothing at all.

You may well be a fan of the first two or three Hellraiser movies who found that your relationship with this fourth one was ... well, what shall we say? Complicated, maybe? You may, if you were of a kindly and forgiving nature, have found the film somewhat interesting, even occasionally entertaining, but you probably also found it confusing, felt that something just wasn't right about it. You may have noticed the director's name-Alan Smithee-and googled it, and discovered that Alan Smithee doesn't exist, that the name is a pseudonym sometimes applied to movies that have been significantly troubled during production and post-production by crises both financial and creative.

Whilst you'll never get to see a Director's Cut of Hellraiser: Bloodline, you can read in this book what was supposed to be...

Completely revised and updated for a second edition, this reference guide is an essential summary of the key concepts in physical chemistry that are likely to be encountered by undergraduate chemistry students. This book also serves as a useful reference for all who encounter physical chemical concepts in their professional activities or research. Written by a renowned textbook author and educator, this new edition of Concepts in Physical Chemistry is a convenient, easy-to-use, and authoritative reference; the chemical terms, ideas, and equations most frequently encountered in classroom or laboratory are clearly defined and explained.

For the second edition the structure of the text has been radically re-organised. Instead of being in chapters, material is broken down into 97 short 'topics' and related 'topics' are organised into 20 'focus on' sections. 'Roadmaps' at the beginning of each Focus show how topics are interrelated and help students to forge connections between different subjects. This novel approach is designed to improve the digestibility of the text for students and be more flexible for lecturers teaching the subject.

The distinguished author team presents the subject in a rigorous but accessible manner, allowing students to gain a thorough understanding of physical chemistry. The text includes numerous learning features, such as self-test questions, notes on good practice, online 'impact on' sections, and example boxes. Furthermore, the mathematics support has been significantly enhanced for this edition, by the inclusion of new 'chemist's toolkits', which link to the more in depth 'Mathematical background' sections.

The ground-breaking approach of the second edition of Physical Chemistry: Quanta, Matter, and Change will enable students to gain a deep understanding of this fascinating and important subject area.

Online Resource Centre

The Online Resource Centre features:

For registered adopters of the book:
- Figures and tables of data from the book, ready to download.
- Instructor's Solutions Manual

For students:
- Web links to a range of additional physical chemistry resources on the internet.
- Group theory tables, available for downloading.
- Living Graphs
- Molecular modelling problems
- Impact sections linked to via QR codes in the text

Reactions begins with the chemical formula almost everyone knows--the formula for water, H2O--a molecule with an almost laughably simple chemical composition. But Atkins shows that water is also rather miraculous--it is the only substance whose solid form is less dense than its liquid (hence ice floats in water)--and incredibly central to many chemical reactions, as it is an excellent solvent, being able to dissolve gases and many solids. Moreover, Atkins tells us that water is actually chemically aggressive, and can react with and destroy the compounds dissolved in it, and he shows us what happens at the molecular level when water turns to ice--and when it melts.

Moving beyond water, Atkins slowly builds up a toolkit of basic chemical processes, including precipitation (perhaps the simplest of all chemical reactions), combustion, reduction, corrosion, electrolysis, and catalysis. He then shows how these fundamental tools can be brought together in more complex processes such as photosynthesis, radical polymerization, vision, enzyme control, and synthesis.

Peter Atkins is the world-renowned author of numerous best-selling chemistry textbooks for students. In this crystal-clear, attractively illustrated, and insightful volume, he provides a fantastic introductory tour--in just a few hundred colorful and lively pages - for anyone with a passing or serious interest in chemistry.

RUMORS OF THE MARVELOUS is a brilliant collection of 14 short ghost stories by a contemporary master of the fantastic. Previously released as a limited edition hardcover in Great Britain and a finalist for The British Fantasy Award for Best Short Fiction Collection, RUMORS OF THE MARVELOUS finally sees it's first release in a U.S. edition. With stories ranging from horror, hints of sci-fi, and fantasy to epic poetry, Peter Atkins delivers all in a style uniquely his own.

Peter Atkins is one of the smartest, sharpest writers around - Neil Gaiman

Peter Atkins is the King of Cool - Clive Barker

Few fantasists combine the visceral and the visionary with such wit, skill, and inventiveness as Peter Atkins - Ramsey Campbell

In On Being, Atkins makes a provocative contribution to the great debate between religion and science. Atkins makes his position clear from the very first sentence: The scientific method can shed light on every and any concept, even those that have troubled humans since the earliest stirrings of consciousness, he writes. He takes a materialist approach to the great questions of being that have inspired myth and religion, seeking to dispel their mystery without diminishing their grandeur. In placing scientific knowledge in such cosmic perspective, he takes us on an often dizzying tour of existence. For example, he argues that the substrate of existence is nothing at all. The total electrical charge of the universe, among other things, must be nothing--zero--he writes, or else the universe would have blasted itself apart. Charge was not created at the creation: electrical Nothing separated into equal and opposite charges. He explores breathtaking questions--asking the purpose of the universe--with wit and learning, touching on Sanskrit scriptures and John Updike along the way.

Reactions begins with the chemical formula almost everyone knows--the formula for water, H2O--a molecule with an almost laughably simple chemical composition. But Atkins shows that water is also rather miraculous--it is the only substance whose solid form is less dense than its liquid (hence ice floats in water)--and incredibly central to many chemical reactions, as it is an excellent solvent, being able to dissolve gases and many solids. Moreover, Atkins tells us that water is actually chemically aggressive, and can react with and destroy the compounds dissolved in it, and he shows us what happens at the molecular level when water turns to ice--and when it melts.

Moving beyond water, Atkins slowly builds up a toolkit of basic chemical processes, including precipitation (perhaps the simplest of all chemical reactions), combustion, reduction, corrosion, electrolysis, and catalysis. He then shows how these fundamental tools can be brought together in more complex processes such as photosynthesis, radical polymerization, vision, enzyme control, and synthesis.

Peter Atkins is the world-renowned author of numerous best-selling chemistry textbooks for students. In this crystal-clear, attractively illustrated, and insightful volume, he provides a fantastic introductory tour--in just a few hundred colorful and lively pages - for anyone with a passing or serious interest in chemistry.