Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 30, 2026

Production and Targeting of Monovalent Quantum Dots
Published on: October 23, 2014
Chemistry and Quantum Mechanics in 2019: Give Us Insight and Numbers
Frank Neese1, Mihail Atanasov1,2, Giovanni Bistoni1
1Department of Molecular Theory and Spectroscopy , Max Planck Institut für Kohlenforschung , Kaiser-Wilhelm Platz 1 , 45470 Mülheim an der Ruhr , Germany.
Abstract:
This Perspective revisits Charles Coulson's famous statement from 1959 "give us insight not numbers" in which he pointed out that accurate computations and chemical understanding often do not go hand in hand. We argue that today, accurate wave function based first-principle calculations can be performed on large molecular systems, while tools are available to interpret the results of these calculations in chemical language. This leads us to modify Coulson's statement to "give us insight and numbers". Examples from organic, inorganic, organometallic and surface chemistry as well as molecular magnetism illustrate the points made.
Related Concept Videos
The Quantum-Mechanical Model of an Atom
Quantum Numbers
SI Units: 2019 Redefinition
A standard set of units has been defined...
Chemistry of Carbohydrates
Chemistry of Carbohydrates
What is Organic Chemistry?

