English

edit
 
Rotation about single bond of butane to interconvert one conformation to another. The staggered conformation on the right is a conformer, while the eclipsed conformation on the left is a transition state between conformers. Above: Newman projection; below: depiction of spatial orientation.

Etymology

edit

From Latin confōrmātiō.

Pronunciation

edit

Noun

edit

conformation (countable and uncountable, plural conformations)

  1. The act of conforming; the act of producing conformity.
  2. The state of being conformed; agreement
    • 1866, William Lobscheid, Chinese Emigration to the West Indies:
      I was much struck with the gaiety of the creoles , whose exterior told a stranger that education had been doing something among them in these solitudes ; and as all the parties kissed the Bible in conformation with the law of England
  3. Structure, the arrangement of parts of some thing; form; arrangement.
    • 1853, David Low, On the Domesticated Animals of the British Islands:
      One may see well the advantages of this form from the coach - box of our heavily - loaded public vehicles , where animals of different conformation are yoked together
  4. (physical chemistry) The spatial arrangement of a group of atoms in a molecule as a result of rotation about a covalent bond which remains unbroken.
    • 1980, Bernard Miller, Organic Chemistry, the Basis of Life:
      The more stable conformation has the methyl group in an equatorial position , since this minimizes repulsions between axial substituents

Synonyms

edit

Derived terms

edit
edit

Translations

edit

See also

edit

Further reading

edit

French

edit

Pronunciation

edit

Noun

edit

conformation f (plural conformations)

  1. conformation

Further reading

edit

Interlingua

edit

Noun

edit

conformation (plural conformationes)

  1. conformation