How do molecules really look like?  Blobs of play dough?  Balls on springs?  ...

Individual molecules are so small that we cannot see them directly (i.e. their shapes  cannot be examined with  visible light).  Based on experiments and  quantum computations chemists have devised  many methods to visualize molecules.  The methods (models) usually emphasize specific aspects of molecular structure (the "focus" of interest), neglecting other  points of view.

We are interested in molecular shapes (how are the nuclei disposed in space) and electron distribution around the nuclei (how do they control  chemical reactivity).  The pictures in our gallery are supposed to visualize these aspects of electronic structure.  Of course, these are only MODELS: the colors are artificial, but nice to look at.

Let's examine several molecules.  Look up there....  See, an electron flew by...