How Quantum is Quantum Chemistry?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48160/18532330me9.228Keywords:
quantum chemistry, Born-Oppenheimer approximation, valence bond and molecular orbital models, autonomous modelsAbstract
The purpose of this paper is to show that quantum chemistry is a discipline based primarily on models, and not on theories that establish a specific and autonomous conceptual framework. This feature will allow us to question how quantum is the quantum chemistry incorporated in those models. For this purpose, we will analyze the Born-Oppenheimer approximation and the Valence Bond and Molecular Orbital models. Our intuition is that, to the extent that maintaining the classical notion of molecular structure is necessary to account for the behavior of substances, quantum chemistry acquires, as a distinctive property, a hybrid character between classical mechanics and quantum mechanics.
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