Anonymous user
Talk:Paraffins: Difference between revisions
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=== stereo-isomers ===
Someone (IP:79.54.58.148) has reverted part of my edit because they incorrectly think paraffins cannot have stereo-isomers. In fact they can, for example C(H)(CH<sub>3</sub>)(C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>5</sub>)(C<sub>3</sub>H<sub>7</sub>) (better known as 3-methylhexane: CH3CH2CH(CH3)CH2CH2CH3) is [http://www.wwnorton.com/college/chemistry/orgo3/ch4/2_methylhexane.htm chiral] and so exists in stereo-isomeric form. If you disagree please discuss it here before I change the page back. [[User:TobyK|TobyK]] 00:09, 1 December 2011 (UTC)
: I think Anon is mostly right: single carbon-carbon bond can (almost) freely rotate around its axis, so stereoisomers can be rotated at each "joint" to transform from one into the other. The only conceivable case where this can't be done is when the carbon tree branches in a very complicated way that different branches spatially interlock each other, so the rotations are restricted--though I don't know if that can really happen, and I'd imagine you'll need at least 20ish carbons in the molecule for that. --[[User:Ledrug|Ledrug]] 01:41, 1 December 2011 (UTC)
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