CHEM 222 Study Guide - Chemical Shift, Sigma Bond, Pi Bond
12 Oct 2013
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A little background: if the number of signals is less than the total number of carbons in the molecule, there is at least one pair of equivalent carbons. This also means that there is some symmetry to the molecule; if you"re confused about this, build a model. Protons, neutrons, and electrons all have something called spin. this doesn"t mean that they"re actually spinning around in tight circles like olympian ice skaters, but they"re moving nonetheless and this movement creates a magnetic field around each particle. But for simplicity (and because chem 14c doesn"t require anything more complicated) we"ll just picture these subatomic particles like miniature planets that are spinning in space around a central axis. When nothing around the atom is generating an external magnetic field these axes point in random directions, but when an external magnetic field is applied, like it is in. This doesn"t mean that they will all point in the same direction, however.
