In the preceding post, a nice discussion broke out about Kekulé’s 1872 model for benzene.[1] This model has become known as the oscillation hypothesis between two extreme forms of benzene (below). The discussion centered around the semantics of the term oscillation compared to vibration (a synonym or not?) and the timescale implied by each word. The original article is in german, but more significantly, obtainable only with difficulty. Thus I cannot access[1] the article directly since my university does not have the appropriate “back-number” subscription.‡ So it was with delight that I tracked down an English translation in a journal that I could easily access.[2] Here I discuss what I found (on pages 614-615, the translation does not have its own DOI).
References
- A. Kekulé, "Ueber einige Condensationsproducte des Aldehyds", Justus Liebigs Annalen der Chemie, vol. 162, pp. 77-124, 1872. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jlac.18721620110
- "Organic chemistry", Journal of the Chemical Society, vol. 25, pp. 605, 1872. http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/JS8722500605