Is there a Relativistic Quantum Chemistry Table?

In summary, Arnold Sommerfeld discovered that the fine-structure constant, α, shows the electron in a 1s orbital of a hydrogen atom traveling at nearly 1/137 the speed of light. This can be extended to larger elements with atomic number Z by using the expression v ≈ Zc/137 for a 1s electron, where v is its radial velocity. For gold with Z = 79, the 1s electron will be going 58% of the speed of light. There is no simple table for elements sorted by v = 0.XX c, as the relationship between atomic number and velocity is not straightforward and not all elements will have a significant velocity relative to the speed of light. Sommerfeld's
  • #1
shintashi
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TL;DR Summary
Looking for a radial velocity of electrons by element list
Wiki said "Arnold Sommerfeld calculated that, for a 1s orbital electron of a hydrogen atom with an orbiting radius of 0.0529 nm, α ≈ 1/137. That is to say, the fine-structure constant shows the electron traveling at nearly 1/137 the speed of light.[9] One can extend this to a larger element with an atomic number Z by using the expression vZc/137 for a 1s electron, where v is its radial velocity. For gold with Z = 79, v ≈ 0.58 c, so the 1s electron will be going 58% of the speed of light"

Is there a table with the elements sorted by v = 0.XX c? like how gold is listed as v = 0.58?

or am I making this over complicated and its atomic number/137 = % c?

in retrospect it does appear that the velocities are 1:1 division, so I guess a better question is at what atomic number does it begin to matter? Clearly with Cesium and Gold it matters, but what about Helium? Iron? When is the %c relevant?
 
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  • #2
Things don't worm that way in QM. Sommerfeld did this work in 1916. Solving the hydrogen atom quantum mechanically was a decade away.
 

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