The potential energy of two atoms in a diatomic molecule is approximated by , where is the spacing between atoms and and are positive constants.Suppose the distance between the two atoms is equal to the equilibrium distance found in part A. What minimum energy must be added to the molecule to dissociate it-that is, to separate the two atoms to an infinite distance apart?
This is called the dissociation energy of the molecule.
Express your answer in terms of the variables a and b.