debye

(noun)

a CGS unit of an electrical dipole moment equivalent to 3.33564 x 10-30 coulomb meter; used for measurements at the molecular scale

Related Terms

Examples of debye in the following topics:

  • Dipole Moment

    • Debye was the first to extensively study molecular dipoles.
    • Bond dipole moments are commonly measured in debyes, represented by the symbol D.
    • Some typical gas phase values in debye units include:

  • Heteronuclear Diatomic Molecules

    • To determine exact polarity, dipole moment (in Debye) can be calculated as the product of the separated charges (Q) and distance between them (r) in Angstroms:
    • Solve for the value in Debye (this value represents the molecule with 100 percent ionic character):

  • The Effect of Intermolecular Forces

  • Bond Polarity

    • The Debye unit, D, is commonly used to express dipole moments.