Electrostatics
Electrical forces are by far the most important interactions in chemical systems. For example the electrostatic force between a proton and an electron is more than 1039 times larger than the gravitational force between the same particles.
- Electrostatic forces hold ions and molecules together, and are hence the source of chemical bonding, they are also the basis of other intermolecular forces (such as dispersion forces).
- Oxidation and reduction processes are all about the transfer of charged electrons between chemical species. Electric fields and energies are central to the quantitative study of these processes, electrochemistry.
- Many analytical techniques work through electrical interactions and fields - mass spectroscopy and chromatography are obvious examples, in addition to electrochemical methods.
- Most of spectroscopy involves the interaction between the electric field of light and the charges in a molecule.
In each tutorial the level of difficulty of each topic is colour-coded.
This is intended to give you some idea of when it might be appropriate to have a go at it. The colour codings are intended to mean:
Level 0 (green)- this is basic material that you have probably encountered already, although the approach may be slightly different. No prior knowledge is assumed.
Level 1 (gold) - this material has some prerequisites that are covered in the first year mathematics for chemists course. It will be made clear what these prerequisites are; many students will have covered them already as part of Physics or Further Mathematics.
Level 2 (red) - this material is more advanced. It has been provided as background to help you understand courses in the second and third years. You may not be in a position to understand this until you have completed and digested the first year.