The Moments of Inertia and the Shape of the Ethylene Molecule

From recent data on the Raman rotation spectrum (1) and on bands in the photographic infrared (2) together with the older data in the infrared bands (2) it is now possible to calculate reliable values for the moments of inertia of the ethylene molecule. The bands so far investigated are in agreement with a plane symmetrical structure and the moments are found to be 33.2 x 10^-40, 27.5 x 10^-40, and 5.70 x 10^-40 g cm^2, respectively, in the ground state.