Orthohydrogen and Parahydrogen (IMAGE)

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Orthohydrogen and Parahydrogen

Caption

Hydrogen molecules consist of two hydrogen atoms that share their electrons in a covalent bond. In an orthohydrogen molecule, both nuclei are spin up. In parahydrogen, one is spin up and the other spin down. The orthohydrogen molecule as a whole has spin one, but the parahydrogen molecule has spin zero.

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Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

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