Are Di-Atomic Molecules spherical?

Dvorak
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
It is usually said that molecules are spherical in shape, that is what we learn from our textbooks. May be what they are saying is true but only in the case of a monatomic molecule. If one considers a diatomic molecule there are two atoms that means two spheres and if it is polyatomic there is no doubt there are many spheres attached to one another. If that is the case polyatomic molecules are never really spherical! Please clear my this confusion.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
There are configurations of atoms that are spherical, a bucky ball for example. Atoms don't have to be spheres either, it depends on how many electrons are in their outer most shell.
 
newjerseyrunner said:
There are configurations of atoms that are spherical, a bucky ball for example. Atoms don't have to be spheres either, it depends on how many electrons are in their outer most shell.
Then what else is the structure that an atom can have other than a sphere?
 
Atoms and molecules are mostly empty space. It is hard to define a shape.
 
The angle dependence of atomic orbitals are spherical harmonics.

Molecules do not have spherical symmetry. But diatomics can be often treated as round things, for example as a Vanderwaals gas.
 
Hi. I have got question as in title. How can idea of instantaneous dipole moment for atoms like, for example hydrogen be consistent with idea of orbitals? At my level of knowledge London dispersion forces are derived taking into account Bohr model of atom. But we know today that this model is not correct. If it would be correct I understand that at each time electron is at some point at radius at some angle and there is dipole moment at this time from nucleus to electron at orbit. But how...
Back
Top