Copyright

David H. Silver

Published On

2026-04-08

Language

  • English

Print Length

10 pages

THEMA

  • PH
  • PHQ
  • PHR
  • PDZ

BISAC

  • SCI055000
  • SCI015000
  • SCI057000
  • SCI061000
  • SCI075000
  • SCI034000

Keywords

  • Scientific storytelling
  • Conceptual physics
  • Modern physics explained
  • Relativity and quantum mechanics
  • Mathematics in science
  • Deep science for general readers

Orbital Affairs

Chapter of: Beyond Popular Science

The Woodward-Hoffmann rules establish how mathematical symmetry conservation governs chemical reaction pathways at the quantum level. In pericyclic reactions, the symmetry properties of molecular orbitals — represented by wave functions with specific nodal patterns analogous to trigonometric functions — must be conserved throughout the reaction coordinate. This conservation requirement creates selection rules that determine allowed stereochemical outcomes. The symmetry constraints differ fundamentally between thermal and photochemical conditions, as light excitation inverts the orbital symmetry relationships, thereby enabling reaction pathways forbidden under thermal conditions and vice versa.

Contributors

David H. Silver

(author)
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3071-304X

David H. Silver is an industrial researcher whose career bridges computer vision, computational biology, and science communication. He studied mathematics, computer science, and biology at the Technion — Israel Institute of Technology as a Rothschild Scholar, and was awarded a Microsoft Research PhD Fellowship for his doctoral work in computational biology at Cambridge, UK. Silver’s peer-reviewed publications span multiple domains: computational biology in Nature and PNAS; computer vision systems in IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence; medical AI in Human Reproduction and MIDL; and entertainment analysis in PLoS One. He holds over a dozen patents in depth sensing, medical imaging, and generative AI. His industry positions include Algorithm Engineer at Intel Corporation, ML Researcher at Apple, and CTO/co-founder roles at several technology startups. Silver maintains academic collaborations with researchers worldwide and serves as a peer reviewer for Image and Vision Computing and PNAS.