Fascinated as we are with the perfect beauty of a snow flake, we must remember that when it melts on the palm to turn into water, its inner structure is not fully destroyed but only becomes invisible to the eye. The structure persists in the mutual arrangement of molecules, in the intricate ice-like structure of liquid water ...As substances dissolve in water, they occupy their own "apartments" in this invisible but orderly "molecular building" partly destroying its separate sections and partly introducing their own new order around the ions and molecules.So it is not for nothing that crystal and solution are put together in the title of this book. They are related and the modern scientist believes that the study of the close connections between them will give him the clue to understanding the nature of solution, which is perhaps the most important state of matter.The book was translated from the Russian by A. Rosinkin and was first published by Mir Publishers in 1980.Glossary 7Editor's Preface 11Chapter One. A Look at Past, Present, and Future 13Chapter Two. Structure of Liquid 17Properties of Liquids 18 Liquid Water 21 Non-aqueous and Mixed Solvents 24Chapter Three. Electrolytes in Solution 31Ions as Special Particles 32 Ions in Solution 35 Electrolytic Dissociation 38 Electrolyte Activity and Ionization of Medium 44 Association of Ions in Solutions 46Chapter Four Solvation of Ions 50Definition of Solvation and Its Types 52 Donor-Acceptor Interaction 58 Connection with Structure 62 Quantitative Characteristics 65 Chapter Five. Properties of Electrolyte Solutions 75Chemical Properties 76 Structure of Solutions 80 Quantitative Characteristics of Structural Changes in Solvents 85 Comparison of Aqueous and Non-aqueous Solutions of Electrolytes 89Chapter Six. Methods of Studying Electrolyte Solutions 94Thermodynamic Methods 95 Kinetic Methods of Investigation 105 Structural Methods of Investigation 109 Experimental Determination of Solvation Numbers 111 Chapter Seven. Theories of Electrolyte Solutions 119The Function of Distribution and Potential of the Ions 120 The Theory of Long-Range Forces 121 The Theory of Short-Range Forces 124 Chapter Eight. Instead of Conclusion 128Solvated Electron 128 Magnetic Treatment of Electrolyte Solutions 130 Radiation Effects 133Selected Readings 137 Author Index 138 Subject Index 139