Chemistry
The Concept of Electron Delocalization in Aromatic Compounds
Quick fact
Benzene is more stable than the hypothetical 'cyclohexatriene' structure by about 150 kJ/mol. This extra stability comes entirely from electron delocalization and is known as resonance energy.
Why this is interesting
When a chemist holds a molecule called benzene, they know it is not just a ring of carbon atoms with alternating double bonds. It is a dramatically stable structure—almost as if the electrons have become a cloud that belongs to the whole molecule, not to any particular pair of atoms.