• If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.

  • You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

View
 

Atomic and Molecular forces (2013)

Page history last edited by Ben Dreyfus 8 years, 11 months ago

 Working ContentEnergy: The Quantity of Motion

 

Prerequisites

 

 

While chemical bonds and chemical reactions are critical for the functioning of an organism, the longer-range interaction forces between atoms and molecules also play a huge role in biology. For example, it is well known in biology that the shape of a molecule determines how it functions. A genetic change that changes a molecule's shape can change its function dramatically.  A significant part of this is the electrical attraction between molecules. Let's consider a few questions about the interaction of molecules.

 

  • If atoms are electrically neutral (with an equal number of protons and electrons in each atom), what makes them stick together to form molecules and larger structures?
  • Conversely, if something makes atoms attract each other, what makes them stay some distance apart, instead of moving all the way together?  Why don't molecules (and everything made of molecules) implode?
  • How can we model this interaction quantitatively?
  • And what does all of this have to do with energy?

 

For the answers, read the follow-on pages on Interatomic forces, Molecular bonding, and Hydrogen bonding.

 

Follow-ons:

 

Ben Dreyfus and Joe Redish 11/15/11

Comments (0)

You don't have permission to comment on this page.