In one of the Periodic Table videos, Prof. Poliakoff shows a model of a hydrogen

Question

In one of the Periodic Table videos, Prof. Poliakoff shows a model of a hydrogen peroxide molecule and claims that the H-O bonds will always be at right angles to each other. I have a rudimentary intuition for how molecules arrange themselves based on mutual attraction and repulsion - I've solved some Foldit puzzles - but the H2O2 defies that kind of common sense explanation.

I get that there are forces pushing the hydrogens apart and forces pulling them together, but how does that fragile equilibrium of forces result in an exact right angle?

Explanation / Answer

The dihedral angle is only 90

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