In quantum mechanics, an atomic orbital is a function describing the location and wave-like behavior of an electron
Each … See more

With the development of quantum mechanics and experimental findings (such as the two slit diffraction of electrons), it was found that the electrons orbiting a nucleus could not be fully described as particles, b… See more

The term "orbital" was coined by Robert S. Mulliken in 1932 as short for one-electron orbital wave function. Niels Bohr explained around 1913 that electrons might revolve around a compact nucleus with definite angular mo… See more

Orbitals have been given names, which are usually given in the form:
where X is the energy level corresponding to the principal quantum number n; type is a lower-case letter denoting the shape or subshell of … See more

The simplest atomic orbitals are those that are calculated for systems with a single electron, such as the hydrogen atom. An atom of any other element ionized down to a single electron is very similar to hydrogen, and the orb… See more

Because of the quantum mechanical nature of the electrons around a nucleus, atomic orbitals can be uniquely defined by a set of integers known as quantum numbers. These quantum numbers occur only in certain com… See more

Simple pictures showing orbital shapes are intended to describe the angular forms of regions in space where the electrons occupying the orbital are likely to be found. The diagrams cannot show the entire region whe… See more