Molecule

In general, a molecule is the smallest particle of a pure chemical substance that still retains its composition and chemical properties. In chemistry and molecular sciences, a molecule is a sufficiently stable, electrically neutral entity composed of two or more atoms.  The concept of monatomic molecule (single-atom, as in noble gases) is used almost exclusively in the kinetic theory of gases. 

The science of molecules is called molecular chemistry or molecular physics, depending on the focus. Molecular chemistry deals with the laws governing the interaction between molecules that results in the formation and breakage of chemical bonds, while molecular physics deals with the laws governing their structure and properties. In practice, however, this distinction is vague. In molecular sciences, a molecule consists of a stable system (bound state) comprising two or more atoms. The term unstable molecule is used for very reactive species, i.e., short-lived assemblies (resonances) of electrons and nuclei, such as  radicals, molecular ions, Rydberg molecules, transition states, Van der Waals complexes, or systems of colliding atoms as in Bose-Einstein condensates. A peculiar use of the term molecular is as a synonym to covalent, which arises from the fact that, unlike molecular covalent compounds, ionic compounds do not yield well-defined smallest particles that would be consistent with the definition above. No typical "smallest particle" can be defined for covalent crystals, or network solids, which are composed of repeating unit cells that extend indefinitely either in a plane (such as in graphite) or three-dimensionally (such as in diamond).



History
Although the concept of molecules was first introduced in 1811 by Avogadro, and was accepted by many chemists as a result of Dalton's laws of Definite and Multiple Proportions (1803-1808), with notable exceptions (Boltzmann, Maxwell, Gibbs), the existence of molecules as anything other than convenient mathematical constructs was still an open debate in the physics community until the work of Perrin (1911), and was strenuously resisted by early positvists such as Mach. The modern theory of molecules makes great use of the many numerical techniques offered by computational chemistry. Dozens of molecules have now been identified in interstellar space by microwave spectroscopy.

Chemical bond

 * See main article chemical bond

In a molecule, the atoms are joined by shared pairs of electrons in a chemical bond. It may consist of atoms of the same chemical element, as with oxygen (O2), or of different elements, as with water (H2O).

Size
Most molecules are much too small to be seen with the naked eye, but there are exceptions. DNA, a macromolecule, can reach macroscopic sizes.

The smallest molecule is the hydrogen molecule. The interatomic distance is 0.15 nanometres (1.5 Å). But the size of its electron cloud is difficult to define precisely. Under standard conditions molecules have a dimension of a few to a few dozen Å.

Empirical formula

 * See main article empirical formula

The empirical formula of a molecule is the simplest integer ratio of the chemical elements that constitute the compound. For example, in their pure forms, water is always composed of a 2:1 ratio of hydrogen to oxygen, and ethyl alcohol or ethanol is always composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in a 2:6:1 ratio. However, this does not determine the kind of molecule uniquely - dimethyl ether has the same ratio as ethanol, for instance. Molecules with the same atoms in different arrangements are called isomers. The empirical formula is often the same as the molecular formula but not always. For example the molecule acetylene has molecular formula C2H2, but the simplest integer ratio of elements is CH.

Chemical formula

 * See main article chemical formula

The chemical formula reflects the exact number of atoms that compose a molecule. The molecular mass can be calculated from the chemical formula and is expressed in conventional units equal to 1/12 from the mass of a 12C isotope atom. For network solids, the term formula unit is used in stoichiometric calculations.

Molecular geometry

 * See main article molecular geometry

Molecules have fixed equilibrium geometries&mdash;bond lengths and angles&mdash; about which they continuously oscillate through vibrational and rotational motions. A pure substance is composed of molecules with the same average geometrical structure. The chemical formula and the structure of a molecule are the two important factors that determine its properties, particularly its reactivity. Isomers share a chemical formula but normally have very different properties because of their different structures. Stereoisomers, a particular type of isomers, may have very similar physico-chemical properties and at the same time very different biochemical activities.

Molecular spectroscopy
Molecular spectroscopy deals with the response (spectrum) of molecules interacting with probing signals of known energy (or frequency, according to Planck's formula). Scattering theory provides the theoretical background for spectroscopy.

The probing signal used in spectroscopy can be an electromagnetic wave or a beam of particles (electrons, positrons, etc.) The molecular response can consist of signal absorption (absorption spectroscopy), the emission of another signal (emission spectroscopy), fragmentation, or chemical changes.

Spectroscopy is recognized as a powerful tool in investigating the microscopic properties of molecules, in particular their energy levels. In order to extract maximum microscopic information from experimental results, spectroscopy is often coupled with chemical computations.

Related lists

 * For a list of molecules see the List of compounds
 * List of molecules in interstellar space

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