Hydrogen bonds

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Revision as of 06:07, 15 July 2008 by imported>David Yamakuchi (New page: {{subpages}} In the study of Chemistry, a '''hydrogen bond''' is said to occur between Hydrogen and either Nitrogen, Oxygen, or Fluorine when the two atoms come in ...)
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In the study of Chemistry, a hydrogen bond is said to occur between Hydrogen and either Nitrogen, Oxygen, or Fluorine when the two atoms come in to close proximity and are held at a reasonably unchanging (and close in molecular terms) distance by intra- or inter-molecular electromagnetic forces.

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. It is also the most common component of organic molecules and so hydrogen bonding has significant influence on every basic component of all known living mater including but by no means limited to: liquid water, proteins, and nucleic acids.

The electromagnetic forces that manifest as hydrogen bonding (really, all chemical bonding) are believed to arise from the motions of the individual subatomic particles "inside" the respective atoms and molecules themselves. Mathematical descriptions or models, even of simple two-particle "closed" systems of inter-reacting (dynamically moving) charged particles, require complex electrodynamic calculations using some reasonably advanced calculus to fully describe the relevant fields. Methods of accurate computer modeling for the electron densities of complex molecules and reactions (like in the cases of proteins and nucleic acids) have proven quite challenging.