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Diatomic carbon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Diatomic carbon is a diatomic molecule of carbon (C2), which occurs when in an electric arc (along with some buckyballs), in comets, and in the blue light we see in flames.[ 1 ]
It is theorized that C2 could be formed by a quadruple bond between the C atoms. The quadruple bond would consist of one sigma bond formed between the 2s orbitals of C, and three mutually perpendicular pi bonds formed by parallel overlap of the three 2p orbitals of C (Px, Py, Pz).
Another possibility is that C2 is triple-bonded, just like N2, but has one "lone pair" rather than two.
The light of fainter comets mainly originates from the emission of diatomic carbon. There are several lines of C2 light, mostly in the visual wavelengths, forming the Swan bands. [ 2]
^ Roald Hoffmann (1995). "C2 In All Its Guises". American Scientist 83: 309–311.
^ Herman Mikuz, Bojan Dintinjana. CCD Photometry of Comets. Retrieved on October 26, 2006.