ABSTRACT
To predict the properties of materials from their atomic structures, you need to know energy ladders. Energy ladders can be derived from spectroscopy or quantum mechanics. Here we describe some of the quantum mechanics that can predict the properties of ideal gases and simple solids. This will be the foundation for chemical reaction equilibria and kinetics in Chapters 13 and 19. We describe the particle-in-a-box model for translational freedom, the harmonic oscillator model for vibrations, and the rigid rotor model for rotations.
