How do I differentiate between orbitals and subshells when I visualise it ?Simon Bridge said:Think of the electrons as being a cloud of charge rather than as a point particle.
Your text should show you the shapes of the clouds based on the 95% probability surface.
The quantum numbers should be thought of as abstract labels... like the dewey decimal system for finding books in a library.
Docscientist said:How do I differentiate between orbitals and subshells when I visualise it ?
That is my greatest problem.In Schroedinger's equation,there are new signs that I have never seen before.They relate the square of "psi" sign with the number of orbitals.And I have no Idea how that works.I search every where in YouTube,Internet etc...and I don't get a satisfying answer.So I've just decided to leave this part of "quantum mechanics" for the teacher to teach and move on to the next chapter.Besides,without even having a clear knowledge of how stuff works and why it is the way it is,it becomes very difficult to do problems relating to it because you keep wondering whatever the hell you are supposed to do.Borek said:Learning some rules (without knowing where do they come from) .
Docscientist said:without even having a clear knowledge of how stuff works and why it is the way it is,it becomes very difficult to do problems relating to it because you keep wondering whatever the hell you are supposed to do.
Can you be more precise about what you mean to say ?DrDu said:Theoretical chemists complain that it would be better to actually teach chemistry in beginners chemistry classes instead of fairy tales about orbitals which not only is incomprehensible to the students lacking the necessary mathematics and physics but often blatantly wrong.
Exactly to what you are complaining about. You got the right intuition that to understand what an orbital really is you have to be able to solve the Schroedinger equation and understand quantum mechanics. But you are lacking the necessary mathematics to do so.Docscientist said:Can you be more precise about what you mean to say ?
How exactly did you visualise the new quantum model of atom?.I am able to visualise the orbitals but When it comes to subshells,I find it difficult to get a clear picture of it.Kevin McHugh said:I had no problem visualizing orbitals in Gen Chem.
What is the required math to solve the equation ?DrDu said:Exactly to what you are complaining about. You got the right intuition that to understand what an orbital really is you have to be able to solve the Schroedinger equation and understand quantum mechanics. But you are lacking the necessary mathematics to do so.
Orbitals are regions of space around an atom's nucleus where electrons are most likely to be found. They describe the probability of finding an electron at a specific location and are represented by 3D shapes.
Orbitals can be visualized using computer-generated models or through various diagrams and graphs. They are often represented by shading or color-coding to indicate the probability of finding an electron in a particular region.
The shapes of orbitals represent the different energy levels and sublevels of electrons in an atom. The s orbital is spherical, p orbitals are dumbbell-shaped, d orbitals are clover-shaped, and f orbitals are complex and multi-lobed.
The arrangement of electrons in orbitals is described by the electron configuration of an atom. The number and type of orbitals occupied by electrons determine the chemical properties of an element.
The number of orbitals increases as the energy level increases. The first energy level (n=1) has only one s orbital, the second energy level (n=2) has one s and three p orbitals, the third energy level (n=3) has one s, three p, and five d orbitals, and so on.