Buckingham (unit)

The buckingham (symbol: B) is a CGS unit of electric quadrupole, named in honour of the chemical physicist A. David Buckingham who was the first to measure a molecular quadrupole moment.[1] It is defined as 10−26 statcoulomb-square centimetre. This is equivalent to 1 debye-ångström, where 1 debye = 10−18 statcoulomb-centimetre is the CGS unit of molecular dipole moment and 1 ångström = 10−8 cm.

One buckingham corresponds to the quadrupole moment resulting from two opposing dipole moments of equal magnitude of 1 debye that are separated by a distance of 1 ångström, a typical bond length. This is analogous to the debye for the dipole moment of two opposing charges of 10−10 statcoulomb separated by 1 ångström, and the name Buckingham for the unit was suggested by Peter Debye in 1963 in honour of Buckingham.[2][3]

References

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  1. ^ Buckingham, A. D.; Disch, R. L. (1963). "The Quadrupole Moment of the Carbon Dioxide Molecule". Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences. 273 (1353): 275. Bibcode:1963RSPSA.273..275B. doi:10.1098/rspa.1963.0088.
  2. ^ "Birefringence Gives CO's", Chemical and Engineering News, 41 (16): 40–43, 1963
  3. ^ D.C. Clary; B.J. Orr, eds. (1997), Optical, electric and magnetic properties of molecules. A review of the work of A.D. Buckingham, Elsevier, p. 8