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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2006  > September  >
Research: Science and Education
A Pictorial Representation of Normal Modes of Vibration Using Vibrational Symmetry Coordinates
Jean-Claude Merlin and Jean-Paul Cornard
Laboratoire de Spectrochimie Infrarouge et Raman (LASIR), UMR 8516, UFR de Chimie, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, 59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex, France
Cover
September 2006
Vol. 83 No. 9
p. 1393
Abstract
This article presents a nonmathematical illustration of the concept of molecular vibrational normal modes associated with symmetry coordinates, which can be used either with an undergraduate class having a basic knowledge of group theory or to illustrate the mathematical method of obtaining the symmetry coordinates. By using the basic mechanical principle that only in-phase (additive) and out-of-phase (subtractive) combinations of symmetrically equivalent internal coordinates in a molecule occur, a pictorial representation of the symmetry coordinates can be obtained. To illustrate this method, the vibrational symmetry coordinates as a first approximation of the normal modes of vibration of some characteristic structures (AB2, AB3, AB4, AB5, and the benzene molecule) are determined in this article.
More Information
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Citation
Merlin, Jean-Claude; Cornard, Jean-Paul. J. Chem. Educ. 2006 83 1393.
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Keywords
Group Theory / Symmetry; Molecular Properties / Structure; Physical Chemistry; Spectroscopy; Textbooks / Reference Books; Upper-Division Undergraduate
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History
Created:
Last Updated:
8/7/2006
8/18/2006
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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2006  > September  > Page 1393


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