Rotational Spectra

Incident electromagnetic waves can

excite the rotational levels of molecules
provided they have an electric dipole
moment. The electromagnetic field exerts
a torque on the molecule. The spectra for
rotational transitions of molecules is
typically in the microwave region of the
electromagnetic spectrum. The rotational
energies for rigid molecules can be found
with the aid of the Shrodinger equation.
The diatomic molecule can serve as an
example of how the determined moments
of inertia can be used to calculate bond
lengths.

The illustration at left shows some

perspective about the nature of rotational
transitions. The diagram shows a portion
of the potential diagram for a stable
electronic state of a diatomic molecule.
That electronic state will have several
vibrational states associated with it, so
that vibrational spectra can be observed.
Most commonly, rotational transitions
which are associated with the ground
vibrational state are observed.
 Vibrational Spectra of Diatomic
Molecules
The lowest vibrational transitions of diatomic molecules approximate the quantum
harmonic oscillator and can be used to imply the bond force constants for small
oscillations.

The following is a sampling of

transition frequencies from the n=0 to
n=1 vibrational level for diatomic
molecules and the calculated force
constants.

Frequency Force constant

Molecule
x1013 Hz N/m
HF 12.4* 970
HCl 8.66 480
HBr 7.68 410
HI 6.69 320
CO 6.42 1860
NO 5.63 1530
* From vibrational transition 4138.52
cm-1 in Herzberg's tabulation.