Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Spatial Separation of Molecular Conformers and Clusters
Published on: January 9, 2014
Information on Gas-Phase Diatomic Molecules from Magnetically Induced Current Densities
Luis Alvarez-Thon1, Liliana Mammino2
1Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Central de Chile, Toesca, 1783, Santiago, Chile.
Abstract:
Magnetically induced current densities are different for different types of chemical bonds, and may help highlight some of their characteristics and stress their main differences. The present work considers magnetically induced current densities in the bonds of diatomic molecules bonded by covalent bonds as well as the gas phase molecules of 1:1 ionic compounds, comparing the current strength values and visualizing current density maps. The results show clear-cut differences for the different types of bonds (non-polar covalent, polar covalent, and ionic), and can also be related to the extent of the covalent or ionic character of a bond. For ionic compounds, the results also show relevant differences depending on the charges of the ions and on their electron configuration (including significant effects from the presence of d electrons in the outer shell of the ions). The article presents and analyses the results in detail. It is concluded that the magnetically induced current densities contribute to the description and interpretation of chemical bonding in diatomic molecules. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Related Concept Videos
π Electron Effects on Chemical Shift: Overview
Induced Electric Dipoles
Since the absolute value of potential energy holds no physical meaning, its zero value can be chosen as per...
Diamagnetism
Diamagnetism was discovered by Anton Brugmans in 1778 when he observed that bismuth gets repelled by magnetic fields, thus theorizing that diamagnets get repelled by magnets.
Magnetic Field due to Moving Charges
Consider a point charge moving with a constant velocity. Like the electric field, the magnetic field at any point is directly proportional to the magnitude of the charge and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the source point and the field point. However, unlike the electric field, the magnetic field is always perpendicular to the plane containing the line...
Potential Due to a Magnetized Object
The vector...
Ampere's Law in Matter
The differential form of Ampere's law in vacuum states that the curl of the magnetic field equals the permeability times the current density. In a magnetized material, the law is modified to incorporate the free and bound current...

