PES Ethane

In the previous section we looked at two extreme conformations of ethane: Staggered and Eclipsed.  There are actually an infinite number of conformations.  As the methyl groups rotate relative to one another they trace out and energy profile as they pass between the staggered and eclipsed extremes.

Action
  • Rotate the structure of below into a Newman projection looking up the C-C bond.
  • Click the "On" button below to turn on the animation.
  • Click "Off" to turn off the animation.
  • Click on a point, or scan along the baseline to move rapidly among the models.


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