Tutorial X: The Diatomic Molecule: Nitrogen
GETTING READY:
Create a new folder for your work on this tutorial. Download the following files and put them in that folder:
PDB File: 10N2.pdb
FF Mod File: N2.frcmod
INTRODUCTION:
A molecular mechanics model of any diatomic molecule consists of two point masses, and , connected by a covalent bond. The bond is modeled as a Hookean spring with ideal bond length and force constant k.
The bond potential energy is
A diatomic molecule is an example of a compound harmonic oscillator. The period is
where is the reduced mass,
For the nitrogen molecule,
and the last three equations can be combined to give the period:
