This book demonstrates the meaning and applicability of accurate structures and their variations, following a rigorous exposure of the demands in their determination. It establishes guidelines for accuracy requirements in answering broadly varying questions in current chemical research.

1. Structural Chemistry, Massimo Simonetta and Angela Gavezzotti 2. The Potential Energy Surface and the Meaning of Internuclear Distances, Kozo Kuchitsu 3. Reliability of Structure Determinations by Microwave Spectroscopy, Bouke P. van Eijck 4. Determination of Accurate Molecular Structure by Vibration-Rotation Spectroscopy, Georges Craner 5. Gas-phase Electron Diffraction, Istvan Hargittai 6. X-ray Crystallography: An Introduction, Jenny P. Glusker and Aldo Domenicano 7. Measurement of Accurate Bragg Intensities, Paul Seiler 8. Diffraction Studies of Molecular Motion in Crystals, Kenneth N. Trueblood 9. Lattice-dynamical Interpretation of Crystallographic Thermal Parameters, Carlo M. Gramaccioli 10. The Role of Electron Density in X-ray Crystallography, Fred L. Hirschfeld 11. Accurate Crystal Structure Analysis by Neuron Diffraction, Georges A. Jeffrey 12. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and Precise Molecular Geometries, Peter Diehl 13. Quantum Mechanical Determination of Static and Dynamic Structure, James E. Boggs 14. Molecular Mechanics, Norman L. Allinger 15. Crystallographic Databases: Retrieval and Analysis of Precise Structural Information From the Cambridge Structural Database, Frank H. Allen 16. The Importance of Accurate Structure Determination in Organic Chemistry, Georges Wipff and Stephane Boudon 17. Structure Correlations, Reaction Pathways and Energy Surfaces for Chemical Reactions, Valeria Ferretti and Katharina C. Dubler-Steudle and Hans-Beat Burgi 18. Structural Substituent Effects in Benzene Derivatives, Aldo Domenicano 19. Effect of Crystal Environment on Molecular Structures, Joel Bernstein 20. The Importance of Accurate Structure Determination in Inorganic Chemistry, Jeremy K. Burdett 21. Structural variability in metal cluster compounds, Vincenzo G. Albano and Dario Braga

`The authors of the various chapters and the editors have evidently put in a great deal of work, with the result that most contributions have gained in thoroughness, perspective, and clarity ... the original lecture notes have been transformed into an important book which will remain the standard woprk for teachers, students and researchers for many years to come.' Jack D. Dunitz, Laboratorium fur organische Chemie, CH-8092 Zurich, Journal of Applied Crystallography, (1993) |d 16/04/1993