The Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules and the Interactive Conception of Chemical Bonding

• Published in: Philosophy of science Vol. 86; no. 5; pp. 1307 - 1317
• Main Author: Esser, Stephen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University of Chicago Press 01.12.2019; The University of Chicago Press; Cambridge University Press
• Subjects: Attachment; Chemical bonds; Density; Density distribution; Electron density; Molecular modelling; Organic chemistry; PHYSICAL SCIENCES; Physics; Quantum mechanics; Quantum theory

Quantum physics is the foundation for chemistry, but the concept of chemical bonding is not easily reconciled with quantum mechanical models of molecular systems. The quantum theory of atoms in molecules, developed by Richard F. W. Bader and colleagues, seeks to define bonding using a topological an...