Why are electrons placed in energy levels and sub-levels?
In: Chemistry
The other comment already mentioned that electron energies are quantized in the atomic bound state. In the atom, the behavior of electrons must be represented with waves.
Within each energy level, electrons occupy certain orbitals with very strange shapes of the probability density! The waves of a vibrating string are a familiar sight. But it’s less intuitive to picture the kinds of [“waves”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spherical_harmonics) that occupy 3-D space around a center *point*.
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