The discussion revolves around the rotational behavior of carbon atoms in an ethane molecule during conformation changes. Participants explore whether one or both carbon atoms rotate and the implications of this rotation in terms of molecular conformations.
Participants express differing views on whether one or both carbon atoms rotate during conformation changes, indicating that the discussion remains unresolved with multiple competing perspectives.
There is a lack of consensus on the definitions and implications of rotation in the context of ethane's conformations, and the discussion includes references to relative motion and reference frames that may not be fully explored.
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 ;)