Peter Atkins (chemist)

Peter Atkins (2007 in Paris)

Peter William Atkins (born August 10, 1940 in Amersham ) is a British chemist and physical chemist . He was Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oxford and a Fellow at Lincoln College there.

He is the author of extremely successful chemistry textbooks . His works "Physical Chemistry" and "Inorganic Chemistry" in particular are now among the chemical standard works . Atkins is also the author of a variety of popular science papers, such as "Molecules" and "Galileo's Finger", as well as "In the Realm of the Elements". As an avowed atheist , Atkins has also written on humanistic topics and atheism and has given lectures and discussions, especially on the incompatibility of science and religion. B. "Creation without a Creator".

Atkins studied chemistry at the University of Leicester, where he received a Ph.D. for research on electron spin resonance spectroscopy . In 1969 he won the Royal Society of Chemistry's Meldola Medal. Atkins taught physical chemistry at UCLA and later at Lincoln College, Oxford, where he taught quantum mechanics until his retirement in 2007 .

Atkins married the scientist Susan Greenfield in 1990. The couple separated in 2003.

Works

• In the realm of the elements. A travel guide to the building blocks of nature. Translated from English by Peter Ripplinger. Spectrum Academic Publishing House, Heidelberg and Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-8274-1014-2 .
• Galileo's fingers. The ten great ideas in science. Translated from the English by Klaus Kochmann. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-608-94125-8 .
• Physical chemistry. 5th edition (together with Julio de Paula ). Translated from the English by Michael Bär. Wiley-VCH, 2013, ISBN 978-3-527-33247-2 .
• From the A Very Short Introduction series :
  • Laws of Thermodynamics . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2010, ISBN 978-0-19-957219-9
  • Physical Chemistry. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2014, ISBN 978-0-19-968909-5
  • Chemistry . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2015, ISBN 978-0-19-968397-0

Web links

Commons : Peter Atkins (chemist)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Peter Atkins in the catalog of the German National Library
• Example of a debate with a devout scientist
• Some book reviews by PW Atkins
• Entry via Atkins to the British Humanist Association