MadSci Network: Physics
Query:

Re: how we visiualize the motion of electron in p orbital in atom

Date: Tue Sep 7 08:15:07 2004
Posted By: Jerrold Franklin, Professor Emeritus
Area of science: Physics
ID: 1093710368.Ph
Message:

It is wrong to think of the electron motion as a classical orbit.
The electron's QM wave function can be used to describe the electron's
position in an atom.  The angular distribution for any state is given by 
the angular part squared: |Y_lm|^2.  For s states this is spherically 
symmetric.  For the l=1, m=0 state it ~ cos^2(theta), etc.
    


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