Title: freely rotating chain
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - freely rotating chain
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.F02518
Status: current

Definition
A hypothetical linear chain molecule, free from short-range and long-range interactions, consisting of infinitely thin rectilinear segments (bonds) of fixed length, jointed at fixed bond angles; the torsion angles of the bonds can assume all values with equal probability.

Related Terms
- linear chain: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/L03546
- probability: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/P04855

Source
- Purple Book, 1st ed., p. 50 (http://old.iupac.org/publications/books/author/metanomski.html)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/F02518/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/F02518/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/F02518/xml

Citation: Citation: 'freely rotating chain' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.F02518
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Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-06-05T04:43:29+00:00