For a linear molecule, analysis of the rotational spectrum provides values for the rotational constant and the moment of inertia of the molecule, and, knowing the atomic masses, can be used to determine the bond length directly. For diatomic molecules this process is straightforward. For linear molecules with more than two atoms it is necessary to measure the spectra of two or more isotopologues, such as 16O12C32S and 16O12C34S. This allows a set of simultaneous equations to be set up and solved for the bond lengths). A bond length obtained in this way is slightly different from the equilibrium bond length. This is because there is zero-point energy in the vibrational ground state, to which the rotational states refer, whereas the equilibrium bond length is at the minimum in the potential energy curve. The relation between the rotational constants is given by