This book provides a detailed historical account of how some of the leading scientists of the past three centuries have tried to understand why matter sticks together, why gases condense to liquids, why liquids freeze to solids, and similar questions that ultimately rely on an understanding of molecular cohesion. This topic has been an important component of physical science research for hundreds of years. Cohesion: A Scientific History of Intermolecular Forces is organized into four broad periods of advance in our understanding: the first three focus on Newton, Laplace, and van der Waals, while the final section gives an account of the successful use in the 20th century of quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics to resolve many of the remaining problems. Recommended.

From the Preface: “...The work is based on primary printed sources. A few letters and other informal documents have been used but only if they have already been printed. Secondary sources are given when they refer directly to the matter in hand or when they seem to be particularly useful. No attempt has been made, however, to cite everything that is relevant to the background of the subject since this would have led to the inflation of an already long bibliography...”

Target Audience: Historians of science, as well as physicists, physical chemists and students of these disciplines who are interested in the historical origins of our modern day understanding of cohesion.

Brief Table of Contents:

Introduction and Summary

Newton

Laplace

Van der Waals

Resolution

Index