Classical scattering calculations for diatomic molecules: A general procedure and application to the microwave spectrum O2

Many properties of gaseous systems such as electromagnetic absorption and emission, sound dispersion and absorption, may be elucidated if the nature of collisions between the particles in the system is understood. A procedure for the calculation of the classical trajectories of two interacting diatomic molecules is described. The dynamics of the collision will be assumed to be that of two rigid rotors moving in a specified potential. The actual outcome of a representative sample of many trajectories at 298K was computed, and the use of these values at any temperature for calculations of various molecular properties will be described. Calculations performed for the O2 microwave spectrum are given to demonstrate the use of the procedure described.