dipole

(noun)

any molecule or radical that has delocalized positive and negative charges

Related Terms

(noun)

Any object (such as a magnet, polar molecule or antenna), that is oppositely charged at two points (or poles).

Related Terms

Examples of dipole in the following topics:

  • Covalent Bonds and Other Bonds and Interactions

    • This partial charge is known as a dipole; this is an important property of water and accounts for many of its characteristics.
    • The dipole in water occurs because oxygen has a higher electronegativity than hydrogen, which means that the shared electrons spend more time in the vicinity of the oxygen nucleus than they do near the nucleus of the hydrogen atoms.
    • Van der Waals attractions can occur between any two or more molecules and are dependent on slight fluctuations of the electron densities, which can lead to slight temporary dipoles around a molecule.

  • Peptide Bonding between Amino Acids

    • The peptide bond is uncharged at normal pH values, but the double bonded character from the resonance structure creates a dipole, which can line up in secondary structures.