what does isomerize mean?

Question

...really, i'm looking for somthing alittle clearer than somthing made isomeric. thanx

Answer 1

It means the atoms in a molecule rearrange themselves to form a different isomer than the one you started with.

Remember isomer is the same molecular formula, but different structure.

Answer 2

One of two or more substances with identical molecular formulas but different configurations, differing only in the arrangement of their component atoms. It usually refers to stereoisomers (rather than constitutional isomers or tautomers; see isomerism, tautomerism), of which there are two types. Optical isomers, or enantiomers (see optical activity), occur in mirror-image pairs. Geometric isomers are often the result of rigidity in the molecular structure; in organic compounds, this is usually due to a double bond (see bonding) or a ring structure. In the case of a double bond between two carbon atoms, if each has two other groups bonded to it and all are rigidly in the same plane, the corresponding groups can be on the same side (cis) of the C=C bond or across the C=C bond (trans) from each other. An analogous distinction can be made for ring structures that are all in a plane, between isomers whose substituent groups are on the same side and isomers whose substituent groups are on both sides of the plane. Diastereomers that are not enantiomers also fall into this category. Most cis-trans isomers are organic compounds.

Answer 3

An isomer is defined as follows:

Chemistry. Any of two or more substances that are composed of the same elements in the same proportions but differ in properties because of differences in the arrangement of atoms.

Physics. Any of two or more nuclei with the same mass number and atomic number that have different radioactive properties and can exist in any of several energy states for a measurable period of time.

To isomerize something means converting it into a substance with the properties of an isomer.

For example, there are two compounds with the molecular formula C2H6O. One is ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol), CH3CH2OH, a colorless liquid alcohol; the other is dimethyl ether, CH3OCH3, a colorless gaseous ether. Among their different properties, ethanol has a boiling point of 78.5°C and a freezing point of -117°C; dimethyl ether has a boiling point of -25°C and a freezing point of -138°C. Ethanol and dimethyl ether are isomers because they differ in the way the atoms are joined together in their molecules. (http://www.bartleby.com/65/is/isomer.html)

Sorry I couldn't be more basic, but it's a pretty technical subject.

Answer 4

To isomerize a molecule means to transform it into a different isomer. An isomer means a molecule having the same chemical formula, but a different chemical structure.

Answer 5

It means to change a compound into one of its possible isomers. There are many different types of isomers (structural, positional, cis-trans,functional...)
An example is, stilbene is a compound that can be found in different forms (ie. isomers). You could isomerise cis-stilbene into trans-stilbene.