Molecular Resonance Through Systemic Functional Linguistics [1]

Gribbin (1988: 129):

The principle of resonance says that if a molecule can be described in two (or more)  equally acceptable ways (where 'acceptable' effectively means states with the same energy, different versions of the lowest possible energy state for that molecule) then the molecule has to be thought of as existing in both (or all) of those states simultaneously.  The 'real' molecule is a hybrid of all the possible structures with the same lowest energy, just as the 'real' carbon orbitals are mixtures of s and p states.

Blogger Comments:

From the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistic theory, the possible molecular structures with the lowest possible energy states are construals of experience as potential structures.  An actual structure of a molecule is an instance of that potential.