|
Orbitals - their mathematics, physics and chemistry.John Ogilvie, CECMThursday March 24th, 10:30am, K9509.
Abstract An orbital is a solution of the Schroedinger equation for an atom with one electron. This solution is practicable in not only spherical polar coordinates, of which every chemist is aware, but also paraboloidal coordinates, of which some physicists but no chemist is aware, and even in ellipsoical and spheroconical coordinates, for which direct solutions have been obtained in Maple for the first time. The implications of the 'shapes' of the orbitals, and even the quantum numbers that characterise these functions, are discussed. There is an urgent need to revise the thinking and teaching about orbitals in chemistry and physics. |