Vile Atheist
Loud and Obnoxious
Maybe this isn't the most apt place to ask. I mean there are other science websites geared towards this sort of thing, but I'm too lazy to find a good forum to sign up to just to ask two questions and I know we have a few smart cookies here. I have a question for those who may know or know the current hypotheses.
If you take the radial probability density distribution of an electron in the s orbital, you'll find there exists certain nodes. For 1s, there is no node. For 2s, there is one node. For 3s, there are two nodes. With the principal quantum number increasing, the maximum probability density is located further and further from the nucleus, characterized by peaks (upside-down parabolas) whose vertices increase after each node.
This basically means that if you have, say, a 3s orbital, the probability of finding an electron is greatest after the 2nd node, less after the 1st node, and very low in between the nucleus and the 1st node.
However, at each node, the probability density is zero. Can anyone explain why these nodes exist? And if science doesn't yet have an answer, does anyone know the current hypotheses?
The second question is the quantum mechanical model works for single electron systems. For polyelectron systems, complications arise due to lack of knowledge of how an electron moves, or the pathway of an electron, or the effects of the outer electrons being shielded from the nucleus by the inner electrons. These complications are approximated using assumptions. We assume each electron moves in a field of charge made up of nuclear attraction and the average repulsions of all other electrons.
The result is orbital approximations. We find that an s-orbital has less energy than a p-orbital, which has less energy than a d-orbital due to the orbital penetration effect. The s-orbitals penetrate closer to the nucleus than the p-orbitals which penetrate closer to the nucleus than d-orbitals. The result is s-orbitals feel the effects of the nuclear charge more so than the other orbitals.
As the principal quantum number increases, certain anomalies begin to crop up. What is the source of these anomalies?
Any answers would be greatly appreciated. I have my 2nd chemistry midterm coming up and I'm dying here lol. This is why I'm posting less frequently on here.
If you take the radial probability density distribution of an electron in the s orbital, you'll find there exists certain nodes. For 1s, there is no node. For 2s, there is one node. For 3s, there are two nodes. With the principal quantum number increasing, the maximum probability density is located further and further from the nucleus, characterized by peaks (upside-down parabolas) whose vertices increase after each node.
This basically means that if you have, say, a 3s orbital, the probability of finding an electron is greatest after the 2nd node, less after the 1st node, and very low in between the nucleus and the 1st node.
However, at each node, the probability density is zero. Can anyone explain why these nodes exist? And if science doesn't yet have an answer, does anyone know the current hypotheses?
The second question is the quantum mechanical model works for single electron systems. For polyelectron systems, complications arise due to lack of knowledge of how an electron moves, or the pathway of an electron, or the effects of the outer electrons being shielded from the nucleus by the inner electrons. These complications are approximated using assumptions. We assume each electron moves in a field of charge made up of nuclear attraction and the average repulsions of all other electrons.
The result is orbital approximations. We find that an s-orbital has less energy than a p-orbital, which has less energy than a d-orbital due to the orbital penetration effect. The s-orbitals penetrate closer to the nucleus than the p-orbitals which penetrate closer to the nucleus than d-orbitals. The result is s-orbitals feel the effects of the nuclear charge more so than the other orbitals.
As the principal quantum number increases, certain anomalies begin to crop up. What is the source of these anomalies?
Any answers would be greatly appreciated. I have my 2nd chemistry midterm coming up and I'm dying here lol. This is why I'm posting less frequently on here.
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