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simon009988
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The majority of the science teachers in my school agree that electrons do move in orbits around an atom in a physical way but I disagree I see them as wave functions/ clouds that are stationary. Who's right?
inha said:No. It means that it goes back into the superposition of eigenstates it was in before you made the measurement it.
simon009988 said:The majority of the science teachers in my school agree that electrons do move in orbits around an atom in a physical way but I disagree I see them as wave functions/ clouds that are stationary. Who's right?
It doesn't exactly ever leave that form; it just 'chooses' which of the many possible forms to adopt. I'm probably not stating this properly, because it's not one of my specialties. Everything exists in all possible forms (eigenstates) at once until acted upon by an external influence such as observation. The act of observing forces a decision as to which is 'real', and that 'reality' is what we observe. It's still a wave function, but a single one rather than many. Since the act of observation alters the condition of that state, it is undetermined again immediately following the observation.simon009988 said:when you stop measuring the atom does it instantly go back to it's wavefunction form?
pervect said:Because the electronic wavefunctions have orbital angular momentum, I consider them to be "moving".
pervect said:Because the electronic wavefunctions have orbital angular momentum, I consider them to be "moving".
simon009988 said:When you say "moving" do you mean the electron is moving like planets around the sun or the wave function itself is moving?
simon009988 said:The majority of the science teachers in my school agree that electrons do move in orbits around an atom in a physical way but I disagree I see them as wave functions/ clouds that are stationary. Who's right?
When you measure the elctron and the wave function collapses the electron randomly picks a place to go, and then a different place next time; So does that mean it is moving in between checks?
Manchot said:Wait a minute. I was under the impression that if you measured an operator, after the wavefunction collapses to the eigenvalue measured, it then evolves according to the Schrodinger equation.
So, if you were measuring the position, you'd obtain a certain value, and the wavefunction would collapse to a delta function centered at that point. Then, it would evolve as if the delta function was its intial condition. Is this not correct?
Kazza_765 said:Uh, perhaps someone can correct me if I'm wrong here, but the electrons don't orbit. Besides for the case where the electrons orbital angular momentum is 0, the wave function is not spherically symmetrical. And the radial probability of the states with the same principal number is a function of [tex](r^2)e^\frac{-2r}{a}[/tex], so it does not have a definite circumfrence either.
edit:typo
Rashid said:As far as I know, electrons are moving because they have mass and carry energy. Another reason which came to my mind was the bonding. Bonds cannot be made until the electron do not change its position.
Electrons are moving but not in orbits AROUND the atom. They are in motion within the atom. In Metals, electrons are moving from one atom to another.
Bob Eldritch said:If an electron has momentum in an atomic orbital then surely it is in motion?
And if you know the mass and the momentum
of the electron then you can surely calculate its velocity?
ZapperZ said:The same thing with "spin" as not being the same as the classical spin, "angular momentum" should also not be confused with the classical analogue. It isn't the same. Why?
(i) how do you describe classically the s orbital with angular momentum quantum number being zero?
(ii) how do you describe the PHASE of the orbital that is so crucial in the formation of bonds in chemistry? We have zero classical analogue for this.
Zz.
Bob Eldritch said:But then I'm talking about the the motion of the electron around the the nucleus, not the electron's spin angular momentum.
simon009988 said:I was thinking that If Electrons Don't move then how would you explain electricity? Would the whole wavefunction move?
An electron is a subatomic particle with a negative charge that orbits the nucleus of an atom. It is one of the fundamental building blocks of matter.
Electrons move around the nucleus of an atom in specific energy levels or orbitals. These orbitals are like shells around the nucleus and can hold a certain number of electrons depending on the element.
Electrons move around an atom in a probabilistic manner, meaning that their exact location cannot be predicted. However, their movement can be described by mathematical models such as the Schrödinger equation.
Yes, electrons can move between energy levels by absorbing or releasing energy in the form of photons. This process is known as electron excitation or de-excitation.
No, the speed of electrons around an atom can vary depending on their energy level. Electrons in higher energy levels have a higher speed compared to those in lower energy levels.