Introduction into the |
Science and Fun Spectroscopic Tools |
Step: 7
A mirror plane can be put in the following way by the molecule.
The molecule is divided by the mirror plane into two mirror-image halves.
Atoms, which are contained in the molecule only once (oxygen), are situated
in the mirror plane and remain with the reflection in their position unchanged.
All other atoms (in our case the H-atoms) exchange the places through
the reflection with an appropriate atom in the other molecule half.
The H 2 0 molecule is symmetrically, there one by a geometrical
operation (reflection) on one level the H-atoms to exchange can, without
modifying the appearance of the molecule.
Go now to
step 8 !