An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

The energy due to the vibration of the molecules making up atoms (→ molecular vibration). A molecule in space can have energies in various forms: → rotational energy, vibrational energy, or electronic energy. These energies of molecules are → quantized and a particular molecule can exist in different rotational and vibrational → energy levels. The molecules can move from one level to another level only by a jump involving a finite amount of energy. → Quantum mechanics predicts that any molecule can never have zero vibrational energy, that is atoms can never be completely at rest relative to each other. The harmonically oscillating molecules can undergo vibrational changes determined by simple selection rules obtained from → Schrödinger equation.

See also: → vibrational; → energy.