Few of us can any longer keep up with the flood of scientific literature, even in
specialized subfields. Any attempt to do more and be broadly educated with
respect to a large domain of science has the appearance of tilting at windmills.
Yet the synthesis of ideas drawn from different subjects into new, powerful,
general concepts is as valuable as ever, and the desire to remain educated
persists in all scientists. This series, Advances in Chemical Physics, is devoted
to helping the reader obtain general information about a wide variety of
topics in chemical physics, which field we interpret very broadly. Our intent is
to have experts present comprehensive analyses of subjects of interest and to
encourage the expression of individual points of view. We hope that this
approach to the presentation of an overview of a subject will both stimulate
new research and serve as a personalized learning text for beginners in a field.