IAFE   05512
INSTITUTO DE ASTRONOMIA Y FISICA DEL ESPACIO
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
The problem of optical isomerism: the hund paradox
Autor/es:
SEBASTIAN FORTIN; JUAN CAMILO MARTÍNEZ GONZÁLEZ
Lugar:
Montevideo
Reunión:
Simposio; International Society for the Philosophy of Chemistry (ISPC) Summer Symposium 2013; 2013
Institución organizadora:
International Society for the Philosophy of Chemistry
Resumen:
The relationship between chemistry and physics has been widely discussed in modern philosophy of chemistry (e.g. Scerri 2004, Lombardi & Labarca 2005). In the interdisciplinary field lying between the two disciplines, quantum chemistry appears as an interesting object to study intertheoretical relationships.In this work we will focus on the problem of the optical isomerism under the form of the so-called Hund paradox (1927). In particular, we will describe the difficulty in explaining molecular structure in terms of quantum mechanics, as presented in detail by Woolley (1976, 1978). Then we will consider the particular case of optical isomerism and introduce in detail the Hund paradox, which is related with the problem of explaining chirality in a quantum-chemical context. This will lead us to introduce the solution provided by the decoherence program (Zurek 1991). Finally, we will discuss that solution on the basis of a precise interpretation of the concept of decoherence: we will argue that a satisfactory response to the Hund paradox necessarily requires an interpretation of quantum mechanics that provides explanatory tools to quantum chemistry.