Stable orbitals/absorption spectrum

[granpa]

calculating the stable orbitals for multielectron atoms is so complex that AFAIK it can't be done accurately. so how does the electron in the ground state 'know' that if it jumps to a certain energy level that it will be stable? (which it apparently does know since it 'knows' exactly what frequency to absorb)

is it possible that the stability of the orbitals is secondary and the absorption and emission spectrum is primary. in other words that the atom doesn't absorb a certain frequency because certain orbitals are stable but rather the orbitals are stable because they correspond to certain frequencies that are characteristic of the absorption and emission spectrum.

 

[DrClaude]

calculating the stable orbitals for multielectron atoms is so complex that AFAIK it can't be done accurately. so how does the electron in the ground state 'know' that if it jumps to a certain energy level that it will be stable? (which it apparently does know since it 'knows' exactly what frequency to absorb)

The electron doesn't need to "know" anything. Either the state exists or it doesn't, and if it exists, the electron can end up in it.

is it possible that the stability of the orbitals is secondary and the absorption and emission spectrum is primary. in other words that the atom doesn't absorb a certain frequency because certain orbitals are stable but rather the orbitals are stable because they correspond to certain frequencies that are characteristic of the absorption and emission spectrum.

No. Stationary states are found without any reference to any mechanism that would allow for the transition between them.