As a Mulliken symbol, this letter denotes irreducible representations that are antisymmetric with respect to rotation. For 10 points each:
[10m] Name this letter of the alphabet that’s used in microwave spectroscopy to denote a molecule’s rotational constant, expressed in units of energy or wavenumber.
ANSWER: B
[10e] A molecule’s rotational constant times its value for this physical quantity is a constant. For a diatomic molecule, this quantity from classical mechanics equals reduced mass times bond length squared.
ANSWER: moment of inertia [accept rotational inertia or angular inertia; prompt on I]
[10h] Observed in real molecules but not rigid rotors, this effect contributes quartic and cubic terms in J to the rotational energy levels. This effect scales with B cubed over the vibrational frequency squared.
ANSWER: centrifugal distortion [or the centrifugal force; or centrifugal contraction; prompt on contraction or distortion or shrinking of the bond length]
<S, Chemistry>