Showing posts with label VESPR. Show all posts
Showing posts with label VESPR. Show all posts

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Molecular geometries that you see everyday!

Everyday items may indeed have shapes similar to the molecular geometries of certain covalent compounds.  Below are some examples:

There are several "linear" objects that we can see in a single day.  A pencil, for example - or even your body when standing straight up.









"Bent" geometries are a bit harder to find.  I noticed that my lamp, which has adjustable joints, can form a stick-and-ball model of a "bent" molecular geometry.














One of the most difficult to find, in my opinion, would definitely have been the "trigonal pyramidal."  I noticed that a foldable stool illustrates the idea of three bonds and one lone pair quite nicely.














If you go driving, you may notice a Mercedes on the streets.  This is where I found an example of the "trigonal planar" geometry.  The logo itself is drawn via connecting the vertices of a triangle inscribed in a circle.













Finally, a "tetrahedrally" shaped item can be easily located by any photographer.  One of their main tools, the tripod, forms this shape almost perfectly.  In fact, when the tripod is un-extended, it could fall under the trigonal pyramidal category.
















Attributions:

Linear Geometry Picture:
http://toxicopoeia.com/main/pics/3d_structure_linear.jpg

Pencil:
http://www.wpclipart.com/education/supplies/pencils/pencils_2/wooden_pencil_horizontal.png

Bent Geometry Picture:
http://0.tqn.com/d/chemistry/1/0/8/u/bentgeometry.jpg

Lamp:
http://www.potterybarn.com/products/newbury-halo-task-floor-lamp/?pkey=e%7Clamp%7C86%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C16&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_-

Trigonal Pyramidal Picture:
http://img.freebase.com/api/trans/image_thumb/m/02fj9jd?errorid=%2Ffreebase%2Fno_image_png&maxheight=200&mode=fit&maxwidth=150

Foldable stool:
http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j00TutEzhQqjaJk/Aluminium-Foldable-Stool-with-3-Legs-DD2013-.jpg

Trigonal Planar Picture:
http://0.tqn.com/d/chemistry/1/0/6/u/trigonalplanargeometry.jpg

Mercedes Logo:
http://www.smartphotoshop.com/images/merc_14.jpg

Tetrahedral Picture:
http://0.tqn.com/d/chemistry/1/0/B/u/tetrahedralgeometry.jpg

Tripod:
http://www.tnsdistribution.com/aerlingus/ftpimages/large/12.jpg