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ERIC Number: EJ918553
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Aug
Pages: 4
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
EISSN: N/A
A Pictorial Visualization of Normal Mode Vibrations of the Fullerene (C[subscript 60]) Molecule in Terms of Vibrations of a Hollow Sphere
Dunn, Janette L.
Journal of Chemical Education, v87 n8 p819-822 Aug 2010
Understanding the normal mode vibrations of a molecule is important in the analysis of vibrational spectra. However, the complicated 3D motion of large molecules can be difficult to interpret. We show how images of normal modes of the fullerene molecule C[subscript 60] can be made easier to understand by superimposing them on images of the normal mode vibrations of a thin spherical shell. We describe an interactive demonstration that allows the normal mode to be viewed with or without the shell. The images of the normal modes can be reoriented, and animated to show the vibration. In addition, supporting information includes images of all 174 normal modes of C[subscript 60] in a common orientation, each of which can be animated. The ideas could be applied to other molecules in which the atoms all lie close to the surface of a sphere. (Contains 4 figures.)
Division of Chemical Education, Inc and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A