Odd Hassel - Scientific Concept and Principles

Scientific Concept and Principles

Odd Hassel was a Norwegian physical chemist who established the three-dimensionality of molecular geometry. While an instructor at the University of Oslo in 1925, he focused his research on ring-shaped carbon molecules which he suspected filled three dimensions instead of two, the common belief of the time. By using the number of bonds between the carbon and hydrogen atoms, Hassel demonstrated the impossibility of the molecules existing on only one plane. In 1930, by means of X-ray crystallography, Hassel proved the three-dimensionality of the molecules. This discovery became increasingly important because it incited Derek H.R. Barton’s realization of the correspondence between molecular function and structure. This discovery is still applicable today because it has been proved multiple times that molecules are three-dimensional. This discovery is very important in the study of the shape of orbitals.