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Karan Punjabi
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Considering a Ethane molecule, it can have infinite confirmations but my question is in this molecule only one carbon atom rotate or both of them rotate? Please specify and give reason.
Are you talking about rotational degrees of freedom where the rotation of the molecule in each of two directions picks up part of the molecule's total thermal energy?Karan Punjabi said:Considering a Ethane molecule, it can have infinite confirmations but my question is in this molecule only one carbon atom rotate or both of them rotate? Please specify and give reason.
I don't know about these conformations in detail. Just want to know that both molecules of CH3- rotate or one of the molecule rotates.jbriggs444 said:Are you talking about rotational degrees of freedom where the rotation of the molecule in each of two directions picks up part of the molecule's total thermal energy?
Basically you want to say that one carbon atom rotates?BvU said:The word is conformations and the angle is the angle one carbon rotates over with respect to the other. So it's a relative angle.
Yeah. My teacher told me the same thing that basically two of them rotates but we consider one of themCrazyNinja said:Look at it this way. Rotation is relative right? So if from "outside ", one carbon seems to be rotating then if I change my reference frame to the rotating carbon then the other carbon seems to be rotating!
In short, yeah only one carbon rotates.
Your question would become fairly more significant if we were drawing conformers of a compound which had two adjacent chiral carbons, but let's not go there unless you want to ;)
Ethane is a chemical compound composed of two carbon atoms and six hydrogen atoms. It is a commonly used fuel and is also used in the production of plastics. Studying its conformations, or the different ways its atoms can arrange in space, is important because it can affect its chemical and physical properties, such as its reactivity and boiling point.
In ethane, the two carbon atoms are connected by a single bond, allowing them to freely rotate around this bond. This rotation can result in different conformations of the molecule, with the atoms being in different positions relative to each other.
The most common ethane conformations are the staggered and eclipsed conformations. In staggered conformation, the carbon atoms are positioned at an angle of 60 degrees with respect to each other, whereas in eclipsed conformation, they are directly aligned with each other.
The different conformations of ethane can affect its properties in various ways. For example, the energy required to rotate the molecule from one conformation to another can impact its stability and reactivity. Additionally, the different conformations may have different physical properties, such as melting and boiling points.
Scientists use a variety of techniques to study ethane conformations, such as spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, and computational methods. These techniques allow researchers to analyze the spatial arrangement of atoms in the molecule and understand how they interact with each other.