PARTIAL CHARGES Meaning and
Definition
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Partial charges refer to the unequal distribution of electric charge within a molecule or an atom. It occurs when there is a separation of charges within a chemical species due to differences in electronegativity or electron density. Electronegativity is a property of an atom that indicates its ability to attract electrons towards itself in a chemical bond. Atoms with higher electronegativity will tend to attract electrons more strongly than atoms with lower electronegativity.
When atoms with different electronegativities form a chemical bond, an uneven sharing of electrons occurs, resulting in a polar covalent bond. As a result, one atom in the bond will have a partial negative charge, while the other atom will have a partial positive charge. These partial charges are represented by the lowercase delta minus (δ-) and delta plus (δ+) symbols, respectively.
Partial charges are important in various chemical reactions and interactions. They influence the behavior of molecules in a solvent, such as in polar solvents like water, where the partial charges of the solvent molecules interact with other polar molecules or ions. Additionally, partial charges play a crucial role in determining the three-dimensional structure of molecules and their interactions with other molecules, such as in the formation of hydrogen bonds.
Understanding and analyzing partial charges is essential in fields such as chemistry, molecular biology, and material science, as it helps explain and predict the behavior and properties of substances at the molecular level.
Etymology of PARTIAL CHARGES
The term "partial charges" is derived from the combination of the words "partial" and "charges".
1. "Partial" originates from the Middle English word "parcial", which came from the Old French word "parcial". It ultimately stems from the Latin word "partialis" meaning "pertaining to a part".
2. "Charges" is derived from the Middle English word "charge", which came from the Old French word "chargier", meaning "to load" or "to burden". This word came from the Latin word "carricare", which has the same meaning.
When combined, "partial charges" refers to the individual charges present in a molecule or compound, typically when atoms within the molecule have a disproportionate distribution of electrons, resulting in a partial positive or negative charge.
