Question

What is dipole moment?

Answer 1

The polarity of a covalent bond can be measured in terms of dipole moment which is defined as

μ = q × 2d

Where μ is the dipole moment, q is the charge and 2d is the distance between the two charges. The dipole moment is a vector and the direction of the dipole moment vector points from the negative charge to positive charge.

 

Representation of dipole

The unit of dipole moment is coloumb meter (C m). It is usually expressed in Debye unit (d). The conversion factor is 1 Debye = 3.336 × 10^-30 C m.