EP 46 · 47:38

Quantum theory of the chemical bond

From America 250: The Breakthroughs That Built American Science — Part 1

Episode
43/85
Watch America 250: The Breakthroughs That Built American Science — Part 1
In this chapter

Quantum mechanics provided a way to explain molecules and chemical bonding beyond the study of individual atoms. The discussion introduces orbital hybridization and resonance as central ideas in that account.

Transcript

112 words · auto-generated from the episode video

47:38>> Yeah. >> Uh also in 1931, you're going to notice a change of pace here. If you're looking at our timeline at the bottom, you can see there's a lot of dots coming up. Quantum theory of the chemical bond. Yes, this is Lionus Powing, the infamous Lionus Powang at Caltech, the newly established Caltech. He used quantum mechanics to talk about molecules. Everyone was worried about individual atoms. What he said was, can I use quantum mechanics to talk about molecules and the chemical bond? He introduced orbital hybridization and resonance. This is something that we still use today and really provided the mathematical and physical foundation for modern chemistry.

From the episode
  1. EP 46

    America 250: The Breakthroughs That Built American Science — Part 1

    Part one of our America 250 special traces the inventions, institutions, and scientific breakthroughs — from Franklin to Sputnik — that helped build the United States into a global scientific power.

    America 250: The Breakthroughs That Built American Science — Part 1

America 250History of Science