Lecture 3 - Double Minima, Earnshaw's Theorem and Plum-Puddings

Continuing the discussion of Lewis structures and chemical forces from the previous lecture, Professor McBride introduces the double-well potential of the ozone molecule and its structural equilibrium. The inability for inverse-square force laws to account for stable arrangements of charged particles is prescribed by Earnshaw's Theorem, which may be visualized by means of lines of force. J.J. Thomson circumvented Earnshaw's prohibition on structure by postulating a "plum-pudding" atom. When Rutherford showed that the nucleus was a point, Thomson had to conclude that Coulomb's law was invalid at small distances. Problem sets/Reading assignment: Reading assignments, problem sets, PowerPoint presentations, and other resources for this lecture can be accessed from Professor McBride's on-campus course website, which was developed for his Fall 2008 students. Please see Resources section below. Resources: [[http://webspace.yale.edu/chem125_oyc/#L03|Professor McBride's web resources for CHEM 125 (Fall 2008)]]