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  • The orbitals

    From x@x@x.org to sci.physics on Sat Nov 22 13:45:13 2025
    From Newsgroup: sci.physics

    Once upon a time in college I learned a while back
    how you get the shape of the orbitals (s, p, d, f
    and more -theoretical - g, h, etc).

    Simple and elegant. All you have is different
    'nodes' or areas of low electron probability
    density, in the waveform.

    With s you have no rotational nodes (but of
    course a radial node if you have something
    beyond hydrogen or helium).

    with p you have one node going across an axis
    of rotation, either theta or phi.

    With d you have two of these nodes. If they
    are across phi you get the doughnut shape.

    Then with f you have three of these nodes,
    or two doughnuts if they are across phi.

    Then I thought, this is simple enough that
    you could learn this in high school if
    students were learning other coordinate
    systems besides a rectangular coordinate
    system.

    Then I thought about the future which is
    now in the past.

    Basic question for those of you that are
    younger than 30 or 40.

    Did you learn in high school why the orbitals
    in chemistry have the shapes that they do?
    Did you learn that the orbitals get their
    shape by magic or did you learn about polar
    coordinate systems and 'nodes' in the wave
    forms?
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  • From Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn@PointedEars@web.de to sci.physics on Sun Nov 23 01:26:31 2025
    From Newsgroup: sci.physics

    x wrote:
    Once upon a time in college I learned a while back
    how you get the shape of the orbitals (s, p, d, f
    and more -theoretical - g, h, etc).

    Simple and elegant. All you have is different
    'nodes' or areas of low electron probability
    density, in the waveform.

    (If it were that simple, it would be taught in high school.)

    In the _wavefunction_ [1]; more precisely, the _modulus squared_ of it which (according to the Born rule) gives the probability density (of position).

    [1] There is no waveform here; we merely can describe anything that has a wave-like shape by a wavefunction since that is the solution of a wave equation. (In the case of quantum mechanics, for a wave of probability.)

    Basic question for those of you that are younger than 30 or 40.

    Did you learn in high school why the orbitals in chemistry have the shapes that they do?

    I am slightly older than 40, but I do not recall having been given an explanation for the orbital shapes in Chemistry class (minor) in my German
    high school ("Gymnasium").


    BTW, the X.org Foundation will not be happy getting more spam because of
    you: https://x.org/

    You should fix this, especially as you are using eternal-september.org:

    https://eternal-september.org/index.php?showpage=terms
    --
    PointedEars

    Twitter: @PointedEars2
    Please do not cc me. / Bitte keine Kopien per E-Mail.
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