Computer Modeling of Chemical Reactions and Enzyme Catalysis
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Autonomy and Automation Computational Modeling, Reduction, and Explanation in Quantum Chemistry Johannes Lenhard, Bielefeld Univ
Autonomy and Automation Computational modeling, reduction, and explanation in quantum chemistry Johannes Lenhard, Bielefeld University preprint abstract This paper discusses how computational modeling combines the autonomy of models with the automation of computational procedures. In particular, the case of ab initio methods in quantum chemistry will be investigated to draw two lessons from the analysis of computational modeling. The first belongs to general philosophy of science: Computational modeling faces a trade-off and enlarges predictive force at the cost of explanatory force. The other lesson is about the philosophy of chemistry: The methodology of computational modeling puts into doubt claims about the reduction of chemistry to physics. 1. Introduction In philosophy of science, there is a lively debate about the role and characteristics of models. The present paper wants to make a contribution to this debate about computational modeling in particular.1 Although there is agreement about the importance of computers in recent science, often their part is seen as merely accelerating computations. Of course, speed is a critical issue in practices of computation, because it restricts or enlarges the range of tractability for computational strategies.2 However, it will be argued in this paper that the conception of computational modeling, is not merely a matter of speed, i.e., not only amplifying already existing approaches, but has much wider philosophical significance. 1 There may be considerable overlap with the issue of simulation, but the argumentation of this paper does not depend on this part of terminology. 2 This has been aptly expressed in the part of Paul Humphreys’ book (2004) that deals with computational science. -
Prices and Profits in Cotton Textiles During the Industrial Revolution C
PRICES AND PROFITS IN COTTON TEXTILES DURING THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION C. Knick Harley PRICES AND PROFITS IN COTTON TEXTILES DURING THE 1 INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION C. Knick Harley Department of Economics and St. Antony’s College University of Oxford Oxford OX2 6JF UK <[email protected]> Abstract Cotton textile firms led the development of machinery-based industrialization in the Industrial Revolution. This paper presents price and profits data extracted from the accounting records of three cotton firms between the 1770s and the 1820s. The course of prices and profits in cotton textiles illumine the nature of the economic processes at work. Some historians have seen the Industrial Revolution as a Schumpeterian process in which discontinuous technological change created large profits for innovators and succeeding decades were characterized by slow diffusion. Technological secrecy and imperfect capital markets limited expansion of use of the new technology and output expanded as profits were reinvested until eventually the new technology dominated. The evidence here supports a more equilibrium view which the industry expanded rapidly and prices fell in response to technological change. Price and profit evidence indicates that expansion of the industry had led to dramatic price declines by the 1780s and there is no evidence of super profits thereafter. Keywords: Industrial Revolution, cotton textiles, prices, profits. JEL Classification Codes: N63, N83 1 I would like to thank Christine Bies provided able research assistance, participants in the session on cotton textiles for the XII Congress of the International Economic Conference in Madrid, seminars at Cambridge and Oxford and Dr Tim Leung for useful comments. -
From Physical Chemistry to Chemical Physics, 1913-1941
International Workshop on the History of Chemistry 2015 Tokyo From Physical Chemistry to Chemical Physics, 1913-1941 Jeremiah James Ludwig-Maximillian University, Munich, Germany There has never been one unique name for the intersection of chemistry and physics. Nor has it ever been defined by a single, stable set of methods. Nevertheless, it is possible and arguably rewarding to distinguish changes in the constellation of terms and techniques that have defined the intersection over the years. I will speak today about one such change, the advent and ascendancy of chemical physics in the interwar period. When the young Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald first began to formulate his campaign for “physical chemistry” in 1877, he used the term almost interchangeably with two others, “general chemistry” and “theoretical chemistry.” According to his vision of what would soon become a new chemical discipline, physical chemistry would investigate and formulate the general principles that underlie all chemical reactions and phenomena. The primary strategy that he and his allies used to generate these principles was to formulate mathematical “laws” or “rules” generalizing the results of numerous experiments, often performed using measuring apparatus borrowed from physics. Their main fields of inquiry were thermochemistry and solution theory, and they avoided and often openly maligned speculations regarding structures or mechanisms that might underlie the macroscopic regularities embodied in their laws.1 In the first decades of the 20th-century, the modern atomic theory was firmly established, and with only a slight delay, the methods of 19th-century physical chemistry lost a considerable proportion of their audience. Theories relying upon atomistic thinking began to reshape the disciplinary intersections of chemistry and physics, and by the end of the 1930s, cutting-edge research into the general principles of chemistry looked quite different than it had at the turn of the century. -
Acta Technica Jaurinensis
Acta Technica Jaurinensis Győr, Transactions on Engineering Vol. 3, No. 1 Acta Technica Jaurinensis Vol. 3. No. 1. 2010 The Historical Development of Thermodynamics D. Bozsaky “Széchenyi István” University Department of Architecture and Building Construction, H-9026 Győr, Egyetem tér 1. Phone: +36(96)-503-454, fax: +36(96)-613-595 e-mail: [email protected] Abstract: Thermodynamics as a wide branch of physics had a long historical development from the ancient times to the 20th century. The invention of the thermometer was the first important step that made possible to formulate the first precise speculations on heat. There were no exact theories about the nature of heat for a long time and even the majority of the scientific world in the 18th and the early 19th century viewed heat as a substance and the representatives of the Kinetic Theory were rejected and stayed in the background. The Caloric Theory successfully explained plenty of natural phenomena like gas laws and heat transfer and it was impossible to refute it until the 1850s when the Principle of Conservation of Energy was introduced (Mayer, Joule, Helmholtz). The Second Law of Thermodynamics was discovered soon after that explanation of the tendency of thermodynamic processes and the heat loss of useful heat. The Kinetic Theory of Gases motivated the scientists to introduce the concept of entropy that was a basis to formulate the laws of thermodynamics in a perfect mathematical form and founded a new branch of physics called statistical thermodynamics. The Third Law of Thermodynamics was discovered in the beginning of the 20th century after introducing the concept of thermodynamic potentials and the absolute temperature scale. -
Theory and Experiment in the Quantum-Relativity Revolution
Theory and Experiment in the Quantum-Relativity Revolution expanded version of lecture presented at American Physical Society meeting, 2/14/10 (Abraham Pais History of Physics Prize for 2009) by Stephen G. Brush* Abstract Does new scientific knowledge come from theory (whose predictions are confirmed by experiment) or from experiment (whose results are explained by theory)? Either can happen, depending on whether theory is ahead of experiment or experiment is ahead of theory at a particular time. In the first case, new theoretical hypotheses are made and their predictions are tested by experiments. But even when the predictions are successful, we can’t be sure that some other hypothesis might not have produced the same prediction. In the second case, as in a detective story, there are already enough facts, but several theories have failed to explain them. When a new hypothesis plausibly explains all of the facts, it may be quickly accepted before any further experiments are done. In the quantum-relativity revolution there are examples of both situations. Because of the two-stage development of both relativity (“special,” then “general”) and quantum theory (“old,” then “quantum mechanics”) in the period 1905-1930, we can make a double comparison of acceptance by prediction and by explanation. A curious anti- symmetry is revealed and discussed. _____________ *Distinguished University Professor (Emeritus) of the History of Science, University of Maryland. Home address: 108 Meadowlark Terrace, Glen Mills, PA 19342. Comments welcome. 1 “Science walks forward on two feet, namely theory and experiment. ... Sometimes it is only one foot which is put forward first, sometimes the other, but continuous progress is only made by the use of both – by theorizing and then testing, or by finding new relations in the process of experimenting and then bringing the theoretical foot up and pushing it on beyond, and so on in unending alterations.” Robert A. -
Industrial Revolution
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: A DOCUMENTARY HISTORY Series One: The Boulton and Watt Archive and the Matthew Boulton Papers from Birmingham Central Library Part 12: Boulton & Watt Correspondence and Papers (MS 3147/3/179) DETAILED LISTING REEL 213 3/249 Peter Ewart, 17901833 (153 items) Peter Ewart had a long association with Boulton & Watt and Boulton Watt & Co. In the 1790s he acted as an agent and engineer for them in Manchester, in much the same way that John Rennie did in London. Ewart later pursued several business ventures in Manchester and Liverpool, mainly in textiles, for which he purchased several engines. He also continued to act as an unofficial agent, liaising with customers on Boulton Watt & Co.’s behalf and passing information to Soho about the state of various firms in the North West. He also had a keen interest in steam boats. 1. Letter. Peter Ewart (Apedale) to James Watt (Harper’s Hill). 10 Oct. 1790. 2. Letter. Peter Ewart (Apedale) to John Southern [Soho]. 24 Nov. 1790. Docketed “Jos. Baker & Co. Sir Nigel Gresley.” 3. Letter. Peter Ewart (Apedale) to John Southern (Soho). 30 Nov. 1790. Docketed “Jos. Baker & Co. Sir Nigel Gresley.” 4. Letter. Peter Ewart (Apedale) to John Southern (Soho). 3 Dec. 1790. Docketed “Jos. Baker & Co. Sir Nigel Gresley.” 5. Letter. Peter Ewart (Raikes, nr. Bolton) to James Watt (Heathfield). 15 Feb. 1791. 6. Letter. Peter Ewart (Raikes, nr. Bolton) to John Southern (Soho). 15 Feb. 1791. Docketed “Bolton.” 7. Letter. Peter Ewart (Raikes, nr. Bolton) to Boulton & Watt (Soho). 16 Feb. 1791. Docketed “About his engagement with B[aker] & Co.” 8. -
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: SERIES ONE: the Boulton and Watt Archive, Parts 2 and 3
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: SERIES ONE: The Boulton and Watt Archive, Parts 2 and 3 Publisher's Note - Part - 3 Over 3500 drawings covering some 272 separate engines are brought together in this section devoted to original manuscript plans and diagrams. Watt’s original engine was a single-acting device for producing a reciprocating stroke. It had an efficiency four times that of the atmospheric engine and was used extensively for pumping water at reservoirs, by brine works, breweries, distilleries, and in the metal mines of Cornwall. To begin with it played a relatively small part in the coal industry. In the iron industry these early engines were used to raise water to turn the great wheels which operated the bellows, forge hammers, and rolling mills. Even at this first stage of development it had important effects on output. However, Watt was extremely keen to make improvements on his initial invention. His mind had long been busy with the idea of converting the to and fro action into a rotary movement, capable of turning machinery and this was made possible by a number of devices, including the 'sun-and-planet', a patent for which was taken out in 1781. In the following year came the double-acting, rotative engine, in 1784 the parallel motion engine, and in 1788, a device known as the 'governor', which gave the greater regularity and smoothness of working essential in a prime mover for the more delicate and intricate of industrial processes. The introduction of the rotative engine was a momentous event. By 1800 Boulton and Watt had built and put into operation over 500 engines, a large majority being of the 'sun and planet type'. -
On the Shoulders of Giants: a Brief History of Physics in Göttingen
1 6 ON THE SHO UL DERS OF G I A NTS : A B RIEF HISTORY OF P HYSI C S IN G Ö TTIN G EN On the Shoulders of Giants: a brief History of Physics in Göttingen 18th and 19th centuries Georg Ch. Lichtenberg (1742-1799) may be considered the fore- under Emil Wiechert (1861-1928), where seismic methods for father of experimental physics in Göttingen. His lectures were the study of the Earth's interior were developed. An institute accompanied by many experiments with equipment which he for applied mathematics and mechanics under the joint direc- had bought privately. To the general public, he is better known torship of the mathematician Carl Runge (1856-1927) (Runge- for his thoughtful and witty aphorisms. Following Lichtenberg, Kutta method) and the pioneer of aerodynamics, or boundary the next physicist of world renown would be Wilhelm Weber layers, Ludwig Prandtl (1875-1953) complemented the range of (1804-1891), a student, coworker and colleague of the „prince institutions related to physics proper. In 1925, Prandtl became of mathematics“ C. F. Gauss, who not only excelled in electro- the director of a newly established Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institute dynamics but fought for his constitutional rights against the for Fluid Dynamics. king of Hannover (1830). After his re-installment as a profes- A new and well-equipped physics building opened at the end sor in 1849, the two Göttingen physics chairs , W. Weber and B. of 1905. After the turn to the 20th century, Walter Kaufmann Listing, approximately corresponded to chairs of experimen- (1871-1947) did precision measurements on the velocity depen- tal and mathematical physics. -
Robert Mulliken and His Influence on Japanese Physical Chemistry
International Workshop on the History of Chemistry 2015 Tokyo Robert Mulliken and His Influence on Japanese Physical Chemistry Noboru Hirota Kyoto University, Japan Introduction Physical Chemistry underwent a transformation from a science based on thermodynamics to one based on quantum mechanics in the 1920s and the early 1930s. Although quantum mechanics was born in Germany and first applied to a chemical problem, understanding of the 1 covalent bonding in H2, by two physicists, Walter Heitler and Fritz London , the transformation in physical chemistry was mainly made in the US; some young American physical chemists were very active in applying quantum mechanics to chemical problems. Most notable among them were three Nobel Prize winning physical chemists, Linus Pauling, Robert Mulliken and Harold Urey. In particular, Linus Pauling and Robert Mulliken played the most important roles in the development of quantum chemistry in the 1920s and the1930s. Both of them started as experimental physical chemists, Pauling as an X-ray crystallographer and Mulliken as a molecular spectroscopist, but they became pioneers in applying quantum mechanics to chemical problems. However, in their endeavors they took different approaches. Pauling advanced valence bond theory, applying it to explain a variety of chemical bonds. His famous book on the nature of chemical bonds was well received by chemists and became a classic.2 On the other hand, Mulliken advanced molecular orbital theory in connection with the interpretation of the electronic spectra of small molecules3. Before World War II Paulings’s valence bond theory was more popular and influential among chemists because of its appeal to chemical intuition. -
Physics Celebrity
Born 22 September 1791 Newington Butts, Surrey, England Died 25 August 1867 (aged 75) Hampton Court, Surrey, England Residence: England Fields Physics and Chemistry Known for Faraday's law of induction, Electrochemistry, Faraday effect, Faraday cage, Faraday constant, Faraday cup Faraday's laws of electrolysis, Faraday paradox, Faraday rotator Faraday-efficiency effect, Faraday wave, Faraday wheel, Lines of force Influenced by: Humphry Davy , William Thomas Brande Notable awards Royal Medal (1835 & 1846) Religious stance Sandemanian Michael Faraday was an English chemist and physicist (or natural philosopher, in the terminology of the time) who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. Faraday studied the magnetic field around a conductor carrying a DC electric current, and established the basis for the magnetic field concept in physics. He discovered electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism, and laws of electrolysis. He established that magnetism could affect rays of light and that there was an underlying relationship between the two phenomena. His inventions of electromagnetic rotary devices formed the foundation of electric motor technology, and it was largely due to his efforts that electricity became viable for use in technology. As a chemist, Faraday discovered benzene, investigated the clathrate hydrate of chlorine, invented an early form of the bunsen burner and the system of oxidation numbers, and popularized terminology such as anode, cathode, electrode, and ion. Although Faraday received little formal education and knew little of higher mathematics, such as calculus, he was one of the most influential scientists in history. Some historians of science refer to him as the best experimentalist in the history of science. -
The 'Hyperbola of Quantum Chemistry': the Changing Practice and Identity
A S, 60 (2003), 219–247 The ‘Hyperbola of Quantum Chemistry’: the Changing Practice and Identity of a Scientific Discipline in the Early Years of Electronic Digital Computers, 1945–65 B S P NIH History Office, Building 31 Room 5B38, MSC 2092, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA e-mail: [email protected] Received 19 June 2001. Revised paper accepted 15 November 2001 Summary In 1965, John A. Pople presented a paper entitled ‘Two-Dimensional Chart of Quantum Chemistry’ to illustrate the inverse relationship between the sophistica- tion of computational methods and the size of molecules under study. This chart, later called the ‘hyperbola of quantum chemistry’, succinctly summarized the growing tension between the proponents of two different approaches to computa- tion—the ab initio method and semiempirical method—in the early years of electronic digital computers. Examining the development of quantum chemistry after World War II, I focus on the role of computers in shaping disciplinary identity. The availability of high-speed computers in the early 1950s attracted much attention from quantum chemists, and their community took shape through a series of conferences and personal networking. However, this emerging com- munity soon encountered the problem of communication between groups that differed in the degree of reliance they placed on computers. I show the complexity of interactions between computing technology and a scientific discipline, in terms of both forming and splitting the community of quantum chemistry. Contents 1. Introduction ................................................... 219 2. Quantum chemistry before World War II ......................... 220 3. Networking: conferences, information exchange, and a call for computers .................................................... -
Quantum Theory Developments* 1N Chemistry
N. TRINAJSTIC: Quantum Theory in Chemistry, Kern. Ind. 50 (7-8) 421-425 (2001) 421 Quantum Theory 1n• Chemistry - Early Developments* N. Trinajstic KUI 22/2001 The Rugjer Boskovic Institute, Received November 17, 2000 POB 180, HR-10002 Zagreb, Croatia Accepted March 30, 2001 . The beginnings of quantum theory, and the main group of phycisists responsible for rts early development, are briefly mentioned. The birthday of quantum chemistry is con sidered to be June 30, 1927 when the Editor (Karl Scheel) of Zeitschrift for Physik recei ved the manuscript by Walter Heitler and Fritz London, who used the Schrodinger equa tion to study the electronic structure of a hydrogen molecule cation and a hydrogen mo lecule and introduced exhange forces between atoms as responsible for forming the che mical bond (there are also other views regarding the birthday of quantum chemistry). First quantum chemists, their contributions and first books on quantum chemistry are briefly mentioned. Early development of quantum chemistry is succinctly reviewed. Key words: Quantum chemistry • quantum theory • molecular orbital (MO) theory • va- lence bond (VB) theory Introduction completed, especially in relation to the theory of re lativity, the second great physics theory of the 20th Quantum theory was born at the very end of the century, introduced in 1905 (in its "special" form) 19th century. Max Planck (1858-1947) delivered by Albert Einstein (1879-1955). 3 However, in this his historical lecture on December 14, 1900 at the essay we are interested in the early development of meeting of the German Physical Society in Berlin. quantum chemistry, that is, the application of quan In this lecture Planck stated that paradoxes distur tum theory in chemistry.