The above animation simulates the "classical" motions of the floppy molecule protonated methane, a so called "super acid." The molecule has one carbon atom and five hydrogen atoms. The five hydrogen atoms contribute only four electrons, giving the molecule an overall positive charge.

The animation shows the five hydrogen atoms (white balls) as though identically bonded to the central (green) carbon atom. In fact, theoretical studies have predicted and recent experiments at JILA* have confirmed** that two hydrogen atoms at a time share a single bonding site on the carbon and that the five hydrogen atoms move around the bonding sites as though playing a continuous game of musical chairs.

*JILA is a joint research institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Colorado at Boulder

**X. Huang, A.B. McCoy, J.M. Bowman, L.M. Johnson, C. Savage, F. Dong, and D.J. Nesbitt. 2005. “Quantum deconstruction of the infrared spectrum of CH5+”. Science. Jan. 6.

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Created: 12/30/2005
Last updated: 08/01/2006
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