In school, we were/are taught the Bohr model of the atom, that an electron ***orbits*** a nucleus in an elliptical path. Since quantum mechanics entered popular culture, talk has turned to an ***orbital***. Wikipedia defines this as “a mathematical function describing the ***location*** … of an electron in an atom”, I presume in a moment of time. My question is, where do we think the electron will be in the next moment? Will it
(A) Be in an adjacent location? That is to say, does the electrom move in a continuous manner?
(B) Disappear and re-appear in a non-adjacent location? Or
(C) We don’t know?
(If my premise is wrong, please correct me. Otherwise, I hope to steer clear of digressions which don’t answer specifically A, B or C.)
Thanks in advance.
In: 1
Basically, everything we are taught in high school about how electrons orbit the nucleus in a neat little path like planets orbit the sun was a lie to oversimplify chemistry for teens. Electrons are scattered around the nucleus like a cloud. They do move around at different speeds however their exact speed and location inside the atom is never simultaneously known. It’s basically very sporadic which is why it’s easier to picture orbital paths when you first learn the basics of chemistry and the first theories about the structure of atoms.
Latest Answers