Irenaeus, Siteadmin, Check users, oversight, Administrators
351,621
edits
Changes
mLine 1:
Line 1: − + + + + + + + + + + + + − <references/>+ − [[category:physics]] +
no edit summary
A molecule is a group of two or more atoms linked together to form one unit. They are linked together by chemical bonds. The four types of chemical bonds are covalent, ionic, hydrogen or van der Waals'.
[[File:Adelphan-molecule.png|thumbnail|right|350px|Adelphan molecule]]
A '''molecule''' is a group of two or more [[atom]]s which form one unit
linked together by [[covalent bond]]s.
Molecules can have as many as several thousand atoms, as in a [[polymer]] (see also [[DNA]]).
A molecule typically does not have electrical [[charge]] (see also [[polyatomic ion]]).
Most molecules are composed of two or more [[element]]s, but they can also be composed of multiple atoms from the same element. Single element, bimolecular molecules which are more commonly known as homonuclear diatomic molecules<ref>http://xbeams.chem.yale.edu/~batista/vvv/node33.html</ref><ref>http://www.chem.purdue.edu/gchelp/gloss/homodiatomic.html</ref> include many elementary [[gas]]es, such as [[oxygen]] (O<sub>2</sub>), [[hydrogen]] (H<sub>2</sub>) and [[fluorine]] (F<sub>2</sub>). Single element compounds also include man-made compounds such as [[buckminsterfullerene]]s, which are "balls" of 60 carbon atoms, as well as natural carbon compounds like [[graphite]] and [[diamond]]s, and most [[metal]]s.
Molecules are typically specified by indicating what atoms they are made of and how many of each they possess. If there is more than one of an atom, its count is given by a subscript. Water has two [[hydrogen]] atoms and one [[oxygen]] atom, so it is H<sub>2</sub>O.
Often part of the molecule is listed separately in order to show some of its properties. There are more complex, but still text based, ways of "describing" the molecule's entire structure. We also use three dimensional "ball and stick" or "space filling" diagrams to show the complete physical arrangement of the atoms in the molecule.
==See also==
*[[Chemical formula]]
*[[Compound]]
==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]