Question

What is the molecular application of radius of gyration?

Answer 1

Step 1: Radius of gyration

1. The radius of gyration is used to express a body's moment of inertia about an axis.
2. It is the imaginary distance from the centroid at which the area of cross-section is imagined to be focused at a point in order to obtain the same moment of inertia
3. Mathematically, the radius of gyration $\left(k\right)$ is given as,

$k=\sqrt{\frac{I}{\mathrm{m}}}$,

Where, $I$ is the moment of inertia, and, $\mathrm{m}$ is the mass of the body.

Step 2: Molecular application of radius of gyration

1. In polymer physics, the radius of gyration is used to calculate the dimensions of the polymer chain.
2. The gyration radius is found to be proportional to the root mean square distance between the monomers.
3. When it comes to molecular or polymer physics, the radius of gyration is calculated as an average over time.