A molecular conformation is a spatial arrangement accessible through motions such as rotations around single bonds, without changing the molecule's connectivity. Distinct conformations can have different potential energies and interconvert at different rates.
For ethane, rotation around the carbon-carbon bond connects staggered and eclipsed conformations. For cyclohexane, ring motions connect chair conformations. A drawing therefore specifies more than a molecular formula: the geometry can control steric interactions, orbital alignment, and chemical reactivity. A sufficiently high interconversion barrier can make particular conformations separately observable.
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