Science Reference

Resonance (chemistry)

Resonance in chemistry is a tool used (predominately in organic chemistry) to represent certain types of molecular structures.

Resonance is a key component of valence bond theory and arises when no single conventional model using only single, double or triple bonds can account for all the observed properties of the molecule.

Lewis dot diagrams often cannot represent the true electronic structure of a molecule.

While one can only show single, double or triple covalent bonds using these diagrams, one finds that the observed molecule does not match either of these structures but rather has properties in some sense intermediate to these.

Resonance structures are then employed to approximate the true electronic structure..

For more information about the topic Resonance (chemistry), read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:

Note: This page refers to an article that is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the article Resonance (chemistry) at Wikipedia.org. See the Wikipedia copyright page for more details.

Search ScienceDaily

Number of stories in archives: 44,032

Find with keyword(s):
 
Enter a keyword or phrase to search ScienceDaily's archives for related news topics,
the latest news stories, reference articles, science videos, images, and books.
 

Science Video News


Smart Sensors for Disasters

A new wireless system assesses injury in a structure after it is hit by a natural disaster such as a hurricane. When a building shakes, sensors. ...  > full story

Breaking News

... from NewsDaily.com

In Other News ...

Copyright Reuters 2008. See Restrictions.

Free Subscriptions

... from ScienceDaily

Get the latest science news with our free email newsletters, updated daily and weekly. Or view hourly updated newsfeeds in your RSS reader:

Feedback

... we want to hear from you!

Tell us what you think of the new ScienceDaily -- we welcome both positive and negative comments. Have any problems using the site? Questions?
Post this page to your favorite social bookmarking site:
close
Include this item in your blog or web site:
close
Email this page's link to a friend or colleague:
close