Molecular Resonance Through Systemic Functional Linguistics [4]

Gribbin (1988: 132-3):

In very many organic compounds the basic unit is not the carbon atom itself but a group of six carbon atoms holding hands in a ring.  This is called the benzene ring, because the simplest such molecule consists of six carbon atoms and six hydrogen atoms, a molecule of benzene, C₆H₆.  The structure can be written in two ways, each with double bonds between alternate pairs of carbon atoms …

By now, it should come as no surprise to learn that all chemical studies of the strength of the bonds in the benzene ring show that each 'real' bond has a strength of 1.5.  The actual benzene ring is another resonance hybrid.

Blogger Comments:

From the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistic theory, the three single bonds and three double bonds between carbon atoms in the benzene ring C₆H₆ constitute the potential of the benzene ring as a whole, and so apply equally to all six chemical bonds, yielding the "hybrid" potentials of each bond.