Search results for ""Author David A Williams""

Introducing astrochemistry to a wide audience, this book describes how molecules formed in chemical reactions occur in a range of environments in interstellar and circumstellar space, from shortly after the Big Bang up to the present epoch. Stressing that chemistry in these environments needs to be driven, it helps identify these drivers and the various chemical networks that operate giving rise to signature molecules that enable the physics of the region to be better understood. The book emphasises, in a non-mathematical way, the chemistry of the Milky Way Galaxy and its planet-forming regions, describes how other galaxies may have rather different chemistries and shows how chemistry was important even in the Early Universe when most of the elements had yet to be formed. This book will appeal to anyone with a general interest in chemistry, from students to professional scientists working in interdisciplinary areas and non-scientists fascinated by the evolving and exciting story of chemistry in the cosmos.

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Without interstellar dust, the Universe as we see it today would not exist. Yet at first we considered this vital ingredient merely an irritating fog that prevented a clear view of the stars and nebulae in the Milky Way and other galaxies. We now know that interstellar dust has essential roles in the physics and chemistry of the formation of stars and planetary systems, the creation of the building blocks of life, and in the movement of those molecules to new planets. This is the story in this book. After introducing the materials this interstellar dust is made of, the authors explain the range of sizes and shapes of the dust grains in the Milky Way galaxy and the life cycle of dust, starting from the origins of dust grains in stellar explosions through to their turbulent destruction. Later on we see the variety of processes in interstellar space involving dust and the events there that cause the dust to change in ways that astronomers and astrobiologists can use to indirectly observe those events. This book is written for a general audience, concentrating on ideas rather than detailed mathematics and chemical formulae, and is the first time interstellar dust has been discussed at an accessible level.

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It has been firmly established over the last quarter century that cosmic dust plays important roles in astrochemistry. The consequences of these roles affect the formation of planets, stars and even galaxies. Cosmic dust has been a controversial topic but there is now a considerable measure of agreement as to its nature and roles in astronomy, and its initiation of astrobiology. The subject has stimulated an enormous research effort, with researchers in many countries now involved in laboratory research and in ab initio computations. This is the first book devoted to a study of the chemistry of cosmic dust, presenting current thinking on the subject distilled from many publications in surface and solid-state science, and in astronomy. The authors discuss the nature of dust, its formation and evolution, the chemistry it can promote on its surfaces, and the consequences of these functions. The purpose of this book is to review current understanding and to indicate where future work is required. Mainly intended for researchers in the field of astrochemistry, the book could also be used as the basis of a course for postgraduate students who have an interest in astrochemistry.

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Ever wondered if the chemical processes taking place in space could be related to the origins of life? The authors of this book, both experienced astrochemists, embark on a discussion to find the answers to this question and more, and include a general introduction to astrochemistry for chemistry students. They explore chemistry occurring in the universe from its very early beginnings until the present era. Based on our current understanding, astrochemistry is known to occur in interstellar gas, on dust grains and in interstellar ices, in stellar atmospheres and envelopes, in dense star- and planet-forming regions, and on planets and other bodies in planetary systems. Recent observational discoveries supported by remarkable laboratory work emphasize chemical complexity, leading to answers to the tantalizing question: can this complexity be related to the origin of life? This book provides the tools to enable chemistry students to make their own computational investigations of astrochemistry and directs study across the chemical sciences and astronomy. Concentrating on fundamental processes, this book is a useful teaching aid.

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Astrochemistry is a well-established interdisciplinary subject and the methods for describing time-dependent chemistry in static or slowly-changing regions of interstellar space have been well-developed over many years. Existing astrochemical books normally describe the subject in terms of chemistry in static or slowly-varying astronomical situations but the most significant astronomical regions are those in which the physical conditions change on timescales that are comparable to or shorter than chemical timescales. Written by leading experts in this area, this is the first book specifically devoted to the astrochemistry of dynamically evolving astronomical regions. It provides a comprehensive description of this important area of science, stressing in particular the methods that have been developed for specific purposes. It will be of interest to researchers in astrochemistry, including both chemists and physicists and could form the basis of a postgraduate course for research students in chemistry and physics.

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