Some Concepts in Reaction Dynamics

Abstract

The objective in this work has been one which I have shared with the two other 1986 Nobel lecturers in chemistry, D. R. Herschbach and Y. T. Lee, as well as with a wide group of colleagues and co-workers who have been responsible for bringing this field to its current state. That state is summarized in the title; we now have some concepts relevant to the motions of atoms and molecules in simple reactions, and some examples of the application of these concepts. We are, however, richer in vocabulary than in literature. The great epics of reaction dynamics remain to be written. I shall confine myself to some simple stories.