Y’all, I don’t know anymore
Do electrons orbit the nucleus or is there some type of electronic cloud that surrounds the nucleus?
SW-User Best Comment
Nothing like them orbiting the nucleus. Kind of like a cloud around the nucleus.
Without getting too deep, because this can go REALLY deep, electrons are not little balls. They don't behave like little balls. They aren't clouds, they don't behave like them either. Our best description of an electron and it's behavior at the moment is as a massive spin-1/2 fermion which carries electric charge and chirality. I know you don't know what that means, not a lot of people do, and that is kind of the point. The electron is a very unfamiliar and not very intuitive object, trying to understand it with a simple analogy is never going to work.
However, you can ask some questions about the location of an atom's electrons and can get some sort of familiar and relatable answers, though they are probably not entirely satisfying. This is where the cloud picture comes in. In quantum mechanics, you can talk about electrons as mathematical objects that represent the probability of finding an electron at any point in space at any particular moment. This mathematical object is a solution to the Schrodinger Equation, which is a fundamental equation describing the behavior of (non-relativistic, i.e. low energy) quantum particles. When you put all the right stuff into the Schrodinger Equation describing the electric potential of the nucleus, you'll find that most likely places to find an electron at any moment are described by atomic orbitals, which are the cloud like structures. Here are what they look like for hydrogen atoms...
Without getting too deep, because this can go REALLY deep, electrons are not little balls. They don't behave like little balls. They aren't clouds, they don't behave like them either. Our best description of an electron and it's behavior at the moment is as a massive spin-1/2 fermion which carries electric charge and chirality. I know you don't know what that means, not a lot of people do, and that is kind of the point. The electron is a very unfamiliar and not very intuitive object, trying to understand it with a simple analogy is never going to work.
However, you can ask some questions about the location of an atom's electrons and can get some sort of familiar and relatable answers, though they are probably not entirely satisfying. This is where the cloud picture comes in. In quantum mechanics, you can talk about electrons as mathematical objects that represent the probability of finding an electron at any point in space at any particular moment. This mathematical object is a solution to the Schrodinger Equation, which is a fundamental equation describing the behavior of (non-relativistic, i.e. low energy) quantum particles. When you put all the right stuff into the Schrodinger Equation describing the electric potential of the nucleus, you'll find that most likely places to find an electron at any moment are described by atomic orbitals, which are the cloud like structures. Here are what they look like for hydrogen atoms...
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SW-User
@MethDozer Fermions do that too. Maybe you are getting the Pauli exclusion stuff mixed up with superposition?
MethDozer · M
@TurtlePink It's not uncommon for a theory to be unworkable based on a new discovery but later reaccepted again when yet another variable is discovered either. Which is another reason it is worth knowing and keeping old models that have lost favor and acceptance.
Jenny1234 · 56-60, F
@TurtlePink I think they orbit around the nucleus
MethDozer · M
@Jenny1234 No, not in reality. The orbit model assumed they were behaving as if gravity was the force holding them in their respective ring. However it isn't at all. Charge is the binding force. As demo strated by Bohr. They move around the nucleus as different states of quantum charge shift. They are constantly seeking areas around the electron ring that are of an opposite charge. Wherever in the respective ring that may be. That's why they constantly popping I'm amd out of place at seemingly random.
@BlueMetalChick I need help 😢
BlueMetalChick · 31-35, F
@TurtlePink I gotchu.
Electrons orbit the nucleus. It's often called the "electron shell." They're organized into levels; the first level holds up to two electrons and each one after that holds up to eight. The outermost level is called the valence.
Electrons orbit the nucleus. It's often called the "electron shell." They're organized into levels; the first level holds up to two electrons and each one after that holds up to eight. The outermost level is called the valence.
Straylight · 31-35, F
DeluxedEdition · 26-30, F
they are in the electron cloud
MethDozer · M
Neither really. The electronic orbit theory was based on general mechanics and how we observed gravity on the planetary systems. That model was quickly found to be unworkable and gave way to the electron cloud model which worked much better but later was abandoned. Yet it is much closer and for many intents and purposes workable for general understanding.
The current model is that the electrons exist in a quantum state where they exist everywhere and nowhere at once, completely ungulfing the electronic shell in their respective ring. Constantly popping in and out of place sometimes in multiple places at once. Based on using Heisenburgs uncertainty principle.
@SW-User can probably explain it better and in more detail while explaining where and how I have gotten this not quite correct.
The current model is that the electrons exist in a quantum state where they exist everywhere and nowhere at once, completely ungulfing the electronic shell in their respective ring. Constantly popping in and out of place sometimes in multiple places at once. Based on using Heisenburgs uncertainty principle.
@SW-User can probably explain it better and in more detail while explaining where and how I have gotten this not quite correct.
@TurtlePink No, she was stupid for cheating.
But I'm not here to be a father figure.
If I was I'd make you come home and take care of the dog, it sh*ts everywhere lol
But I'm not here to be a father figure.
If I was I'd make you come home and take care of the dog, it sh*ts everywhere lol
TrunkZ · 61-69, M
Oh damn... It's happening again..
Just f*ck the teacher and stop stressin 🤪