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Atomic force microscopy (AFM) image of a PTCDA molecule, in which the five six-carbon rings are visible.[1]A scanning tunneling microscopy image of pentacene molecules, which consist of linear chains of five carbon rings.[2]AFM image of 1,5,9-trioxo-13-azatriangulene and its chemical structure.[3]
A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion.[4][5][6][7][8] In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and biochemistry, the distinction from ions is dropped and molecule is often used when referring to polyatomic ions.
A molecule may be homonuclear, that is, it consists of atoms of one chemical element, e.g. two atoms in the oxygen molecule (O2); or it may be heteronuclear, a chemical compound composed of more than one element, e.g. water (two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom; H2O). In the kinetic theory of gases, the term molecule is often used for any gaseous particle regardless of its composition. This relaxes the requirement that a molecule contains two or more atoms, since the noble gases are individual atoms.[9] Atoms and complexes connected by non-covalent interactions, such as hydrogen bonds or ionic bonds, are typically not considered single molecules.[10]
Concepts similar to molecules have been discussed since ancient times, but modern investigation into the nature of molecules and their bonds began in the 17th century. Refined over time by scientists such as Robert Boyle, Amedeo Avogadro, Jean Perrin, and Linus Pauling, the study of molecules is today known as molecular physics or molecular chemistry.
^Iwata, Kota; Yamazaki, Shiro; Mutombo, Pingo; Hapala, Prokop; Ondráček, Martin; Jelínek, Pavel; Sugimoto, Yoshiaki (2015). "Chemical structure imaging of a single molecule by atomic force microscopy at room temperature". Nature Communications. 6: 7766. Bibcode:2015NatCo...6.7766I. doi:10.1038/ncomms8766. PMC 4518281. PMID 26178193.
^Dinca, L.E.; De Marchi, F.; MacLeod, J.M.; Lipton-Duffin, J.; Gatti, R.; Ma, D.; Perepichka, D.F.; Rosei, F. (2015). "Pentacene on Ni(111): Room-temperature molecular packing and temperature-activated conversion to graphene". Nanoscale. 7 (7): 3263–9. Bibcode:2015Nanos...7.3263D. doi:10.1039/C4NR07057G. PMID 25619890.
^Hapala, Prokop; Švec, Martin; Stetsovych, Oleksandr; Van Der Heijden, Nadine J.; Ondráček, Martin; Van Der Lit, Joost; Mutombo, Pingo; Swart, Ingmar; Jelínek, Pavel (2016). "Mapping the electrostatic force field of single molecules from high-resolution scanning probe images". Nature Communications. 7: 11560. Bibcode:2016NatCo...711560H. doi:10.1038/ncomms11560. PMC 4894979. PMID 27230940.
^IUPAC, Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book") (1997). Online corrected version: (2006–) "Molecule". doi:10.1351/goldbook.M04002
^Ebbin, Darrell D. (1990). General Chemistry (3rd ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. ISBN 978-0-395-43302-7.
^Brown, T.L.; Kenneth C. Kemp; Theodore L. Brown; Harold Eugene LeMay; Bruce Edward Bursten (2003). Chemistry – the Central Science (9th ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-066997-1.
^Chang, Raymond (1998). Chemistry (6th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-115221-1.
^Zumdahl, Steven S. (1997). Chemistry (4th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-669-41794-4.
^Chandra, Sulekh (2005). Comprehensive Inorganic Chemistry. New Age Publishers. ISBN 978-81-224-1512-4.
^"Molecule". Encyclopædia Britannica. 22 January 2016. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include...
Diatomic molecules (from Greek di- 'two') are molecules composed of only two atoms, of the same or different chemical elements. If a diatomic molecule consists...
In molecular biology and pharmacology, a small molecule or micromolecule is a low molecular weight (≤ 1000 daltons) organic compound that may regulate...
to a molecule or its chemical groups having an electric dipole moment, with a negatively charged end and a positively charged end. Polar molecules must...
A molecule editor is a computer program for creating and modifying representations of chemical structures. Molecule editors can manipulate chemical structure...
Media Molecule Ltd. is a British video game developer based in Guildford, Surrey. Founded in 2006 by Mark Healey, Alex Evans, David Smith, and Kareem Ettouney...
The Molecule Man (Owen Reece) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in Fantastic Four #20 in November...
polymer (/ˈpɒlɪmər/) is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their...
and a hydrogen source like water into simple sugars and other organic molecules by autotrophic organisms using light (photosynthesis) or other sources...
This is an index of lists of molecules (i.e. by year, number of atoms, etc.). Millions of molecules have existed in the universe since before the formation...
Triatomic molecules are molecules composed of three atoms, of either the same or different chemical elements. Examples include H2O, CO2 (pictured), HCN...
A heteronuclear molecule is a molecule composed of atoms of more than one chemical element. For example, a molecule of water (H2O) is heteronuclear because...
micronutrients. Its chemical formula, H2O, indicates that each of its molecules contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms, connected by covalent bonds...
A mesonic molecule is a set of two or more mesons bound together by the strong force. Unlike baryonic molecules, which form the nuclei of all elements...
In chemistry, homonuclear molecules, or homonuclear species, are molecules composed of only one element. Homonuclear molecules may consist of various numbers...
a periodic motion of the atoms of a molecule relative to each other, such that the center of mass of the molecule remains unchanged. The typical vibrational...
A bicyclic molecule (from bi 'two', and cycle 'ring') is a molecule that features two joined rings. Bicyclic structures occur widely, for example in many...
three-dimensional arrangement of the atoms that constitute a molecule. It includes the general shape of the molecule as well as bond lengths, bond angles, torsional...
A macromolecule is a very large molecule important to biological processes, such as a protein or nucleic acid. It is composed of thousands of covalently...
stimuli, providing structure to cells and organisms, and transporting molecules from one location to another. Proteins differ from one another primarily...
or light. Chemical signals are molecules with the ability to bind and activate a specific receptor. These molecules, also referred as ligands, are chemically...
və-SEP-ər) is a model used in chemistry to predict the geometry of individual molecules from the number of electron pairs surrounding their central atoms. It...
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