DIPOLE MOMENT

An electric dipole is a system of positive and negative charge

separated by a finite distance. If positive and negative charges are + Q
and -Q are separated by a distance 1 then the dipole moment is given
as: µ= QI Debye is the unit of dipole moment=10-18 esu x cm
Where esu indicates electrostatic unit of charge

In a molecule such as HCl, the bonding electron pair is not shared

equally between the hydrogen
atom and the chlorine atom. The chlorine atom with its greater
electronegativity, pulls the electron
pair closer to it. This gives a slight positive charge (+q) to the
hydrogen atom and a slight negative
charge (– q) to the chlorine atom.

Such a molecule with a positive charge at one end and a negative

charge at the other end is referred to as an electric dipole or simply
dipole. The degree of polarity of a polar molecule is measured by its
dipole moment, μ (Greek mu).
The dipole moment of a polar molecule is given by the product of the
charge at one end and the distance between the opposite charges.
Thus,

Unit of Dipole Moment The CGS unit for dipole moment is the
debye, symbolised by D, named after the physical chemist Peter
Debye (1884-1966). A debye is the magnitude of the dipole moment
(μ) when the charge (q) is 1 × 10–10 esu (electrostatic units) and
distance (r) is 1Å (10–8 cm).

Thus 1 D = 1 × 10–18 esu cm In SI system, the charge is stated in

Coulombs (C) and distance in metres (m). Thus dipole moment is
expressed in Coulomb metres (Cm). The relation of debye to SI units
is given by the expression coulomb:
1 D = 3.336 × 10–30 Cm
Determination of Dipole Moment
Electric condenser. The dipole moment of a substance can be
experimentally determined with the help of an electric condenser (Fig.
13.2). The parallel plates of the condenser can be charged by
connecting them to a storage battery. When the condenser is charged,
an electric field is set up with field strength equal to the applied
voltage (V) divided by the distance (d) between the plates.
Polar molecules are electric dipoles. The net charge of a dipole is
zero. When placed between the charged plates, it will neither move
toward the positive plate nor the negative plate.
On the other hand, it will rotate and align with its negative end toward
the positive plate and positive end toward the negative plate. Thus all
the polar molecules align themselves in the electric field. This
orientation of dipoles affects the electric field between the two plates
as the field due to the dipoles is opposed to that due to the charge on
the plates.

The plates are charged to a voltage, say V, prior to the introduction of

the polar substance. These are then disconnected from the battery. On
introducing the polar substance between the plates, the voltage will
change to a lower value, V'. Just how much the voltage changes
depends on the nature of the substance. The ratio ε = V/V' is a
characteristic property of a substance called the dielectric constant.
The experimentally determined value of dielectric constant is used to
calculate the dipole moment.
Use of Rotational Spectra
The rotational spectrum of a polar molecule is examined in the gas
phase. It is found that the spectral lines shift when the sample is
exposed to a strong electric field. From the magnitude of this effect
(Stark effect), the dipole moment can be determined very accurately.
The dipole moments of
some simple molecules are listed in Table 13.2

Applications
1. To confirm the structure of the molecule. Examples:
a) Benzene and carbon tetrachloride are symmetrical molecules and
the dipole moment is zero.
b) Water molecule has a dipole moment of 1.85 D. So there is an
angle of 108O between the OH bonds of the water molecules.
c) Dipole moment of carbon dioxide is zero and this shows that it is a
linear molecule. [O=C=O]
d) The dipole moment of Para dichlorobenzene is zero and of meta
dichlorobenzene is 2.6D.
2. Dipole moment can be used to distinguish between the cis and trans
forms. a) Trans dichloroethylene has dipole moment of zero and cis
has 2.95D.
3. The insecticidal activity can be measured from dipole moment.
Lower the value greater will be lipoidal solubility and greater will be
the toxicity.
Example: DDT ( Para isomer) has a dipole moment of 1.1 D

The para isomer of DDT has a smallest dipole moment of 1.10

whereas the meta isomer has a dipole moment of 1.55 and ortho
isomer 1.90. Because of the smallest dipole moment the para form
shows greater activity. It can easily penetrate into the lipoidal
membrane of the insect and attack the enzyme present in the insect
lower dipole moment means greater insecticidal action
4. Dipole moment can be used to determine the percentage ion
character of a covalent bond.
Examples In case of HCl, dipole moment is 6.1D, if it is fully ionic.
But the practical value is 1.0 4D

Dissociation constant
Working in the laboratory requires a lot of caution, as strong acids
could burn the skin if handled carelessly. When determining which
acids are weak or strong, how do we do that? Comparison of the
dissociation constants between the acids is one method to accomplish
this. Essentially, the dissociation constant is the ratio of original acid
(reactants) to the dissociated ions (products). Ka is the abbreviation for
it.

The dissociation constant is defined as the ratio of dissociated ions

(products) to the original acid or bases in the solution(reactants). For
acids, the acid dissociation constant (
Ka ) is defined as the ratio of concentration of dissociated ions to the
concentration of original acid.
Whereas for the basic solutions, the base dissociation constant ( Ka ) is
defined as the ratio of concentration of dissociated ions to the
concentration of original base. Calculation of the dissociation
constant:
The dissociation constant is generally calculated by dividing the
individual concentration of the dissociated ion by the concentration of
the solution.
For a general acid-base reaction of the type:

Our typical method for determining the dissociation constant is to

measure how much is dissociated in water. The conjugate base of an
acid is formed whenever water is added to an acid, with some of the
hydrogen atoms from the acid being transferred to the water. During
this process, hydrogen atoms travel from the acid to the water, and then
some of these hydrogen atoms transfer back to the acid (reforming it).
And these hydrogen atoms continue moving between the acid and
water. Until the reaction reaches equilibrium, the products and
reactants are exchanged. The equilibrium of a reaction is when, over
time, no concentration changes of the reactant or product occur. To
calculate the dissociation constant, we need to reach equilibrium in the
reaction. A quotient can be used to calculate it since it is the ratio of
products to reactants:

In brackets, these molecules are grouped by their concentration. In

brackets, these molecules are grouped by their concentration.
A dissociation constant is used in chemistry, biochemistry, and
pharmacology to measure the tendency of a larger object to divide into
smaller components, such as when molecules separate into their
component molecules, or when ions separate into their components.
Inversely related to the association constant is the dissociation constant.
The ionization constant or dissociation constant can alternatively be
referred to as an ionization constant in the case of salts.

Determinations of dissociation constant

Different methods, such as conductivity, visible or UV absorption
spectrometers, potentiometers, etc. are available. The most commonly
used method is potentiometric pH. A measure of acid dissociation

Ka= [H3O+ ] [A--]/ [HA]

Salt A- and an acid [HA] are present in equimolar concentrations, so

the dissociation constant Ka--- is the same as the hydronium ion
concentration.
Ka= [H3O+ ] when [A- ] = [HA]
Method
A solution containing an equimolar concentration of an acid and a
strong base salt of an acid may be sampled and the pH determined. pKa
is the concentration at which measurement can be made. By calculating
ka from pKa. In the case of dissociation constants, pKa is the negative
logarithm.

Applications
A drug's dissociation constants are determined by its physiological and
pharmaceutical activities, solubility, solution rate, side of binding
(protein binding), and rate of absorption.
Example - Because Unionized drugs are more readily available from
the stomach, there is a higher rate and extent of absorption from the
stomach area for weakly acidic drugs. Similarly, the intestinal tract is
better at absorbing weak bases

Refractive Index:

Refractive Index is a property of any material which is used to define

the ratio between the speed of light in a medium to the speed in a
vacuum. It is denoted by the symbol μ. When travelling in a medium
other than the vacuum light particles are absorbed and re-emit by the
medium which slows down the speed of light.
Let’s discuss the refractive index and its application and others in detail
in this article.
Refraction of Light
It sometimes appears or observed that when the light rays are travelling
obliquely from one medium to another medium, the path or direction
of the propagation of light in another or second medium somehow
changes. This certain phenomenon is what is known as the refraction
of light. It is a very simple word that describes the change in the
velocity or speed of light when it goes or travels from one medium to
another medium. The refraction of light depends upon the velocity of
the material medium we use and the nature of another medium from
which the light comes. There are certain laws for it also which this
refraction phenomenon follows. The observable change in the velocity
or speed of light rays causes refraction.

Refraction through two different media or mediums is shown above.

The light ray has changed its path on travelling from air to glass, and it
will again change when vice versa occurs.

Laws Of Refraction
There are given two laws of refraction as stated below which at the
sight of refraction the light follows and what we see is the refracted
image formed of the object.

The refracted ray, incident or what we call obliquely falling ray and the
normal ray at the point of incidence all will tend to lie together in the
same plane.
Secondly, we have the ratio of the sin of the angle of the incidence and
refraction as a constant or has a definite value which is stated or termed
as Snell’s law.
sin i / sin r = constant

where
i is the angle of incidence,
r is the angle of refraction,
Constant value depends upon the refractive indexes of the two taken
mediums. It is their ratio and is dimensionless.

What is Refractive Index?

Refractive Index first of all is a dimensionless quantity. The index of
refraction or in other words refractive index enables us to know how
fast light travels through the material medium. The refractive index
gives an idea about the speed of light while travelling in a different
medium. Whenever the light that tends to travel obliquely from one
medium to another changes its direction while travelling from another,
the extent of change in the direction of light rays is what we say and
calculate as refractive index. The ratio of the velocities or speed of light
in different media gives the refractive index.

Refractive index is of two types:

Absolute Refractive Index

Relative Refractive Index
The type of refractive index depends upon the two mediums in which
the light is travelling. The absolute refractive index has one material
medium and one vacuum in which the speed of light is 3 × 108 m/s.
The relative refractive index is the relative change in speed or velocity
of light upon travelling from one given medium to another.

Upon travelling from a rarer medium to denser the light rays tend to
bend towards the normal and if it travels from denser to rarer then it
bends away from the normal at the point of incidence.

Absolute Refractive Index

For a considered material medium, the refractive index is observed or
considered to be the ratio between the speed or velocity of light in a
vacuum (c) to the speed of light in the provided material medium (v)
on which it falls. The refractive index or index of refraction for a
medium is represented or denoted by small n, and it is given by the
following formula:
nv = c / v

where
c is velocity of the light in vacuum
v is velocity of light in the provided medium

The velocity of light in a vacuum is 3 × 108 m/s. Its speed in air is also
almost the same as that in a vacuum with a minimal difference. Hence,
when travelling from air to the medium the speed is taken to be 3 × 108
m/s only. The absolute refractive index as the name suggests gives us
a rough estimate of the optical density of the given material.

The table gives an idea about the absolute refractive indices of different
mediums.

The one with a higher refractive index is optically denser than a

material with a low refractive index which becomes a rarer medium. A
material having a higher optical density doesn’t mean it has a high mass
by volume density as they are two different quantities. For instance,
kerosene has a lower density than water, but it is optically denser than
water as we can see it has a higher value of the refractive index of 1.44
than water 1.33.

Relative Refractive Index

The relative refractive index refers to the refractive index of one
material medium with respect to another one. The given velocities of
light in different media can give the relative refractive index by the
following also where the first medium is not a vacuum:

n21 = v1 / v2

where
n21 is refractive index of the speed of light in material medium 2 with
respect to the velocity of light in medium 1

Similarly,

n12 = v2 / v1

where
n12 is refractive index of the speed of light in material medium 1 with
respect to the velocity of light in medium 2
On travelling from a rarer to a denser medium, a light ray bends towards
normal and vice versa, and on travelling from denser to rarer it bends
away from normal. As can be observed and seen that the refractive
index of ice is lower than that of kerosene so the light ray after
travelling from ice to kerosene has bent towards the normal and so their
ratio can give us the relative refractive index.

Applications on Refractive Index

Various applications of the Refractive Index are discussed below in the
article.
It is widely used or applied for identifying a particular substance,
confirming its purity, or measuring the given concentration.
Generally and commonly it is used for measuring the concentration of
the solute in an aqueous solution. For instance, in a solution of sugar,
its refractive index of it can be used to determine the sugar content.
It can also be used also in the determination of the drug concentration
in the pharmaceutical or pharmacy industry.
It is widely used to calculate the focusing power of various lenses, and
the dispersive power of prisms.
It is generally applied for the estimation of the thermophysical
properties of many hydrocarbons and petroleum mixtures.