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Morse potential

The Morse potential, named after physicist Philip M. Morse , is a convenient model for the potential energy of a diatomic molecule. It is of the form

$V(r) = D_e ( 1-e^{-a(r-r_e)} )^2$ .

Here $r$ is the distance between the atoms, $r e$ is the equilibrium bond distance, $D e$ is the 'depth' of the potential energy function (the difference in energy between $V (r e)$ and at infinite separation), and $a$ controls the 'width' of the potential.

Reference

P. M. Morse, Diatomic molecules according to the wave mechanics. II. Vibrational levels. Phys. Rev. 1929, 34, 57.

Categories: Chemistry

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01-04-2007 01:21:04

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