Hydrogen orbitals
Predict firstAre these points many electrons inside the atom at one instant?
Distinguish orbitals, probability density, nodes, and the sign of the wave function.
Prerequisites: Probability density describes the chance of finding the electron per unit volume; the wave function ψ gives the probability amplitude.Start from the simplest case, 1s
Predict firstAre these points many electrons inside the atom at one instant?
No. A hydrogen atom has only one electron; the dot cloud is sampled from |ψ|² and shows the distribution of possible positions over repeated measurements. The 1s orbital is spherically symmetric. Rotating the view does not set the electron flying along a track.
How to observe
- Switch between the 1s, 2s, 2p and 3d orbitals
- Rotate and slice to find the nodes of the probability density
- Distinguish probability density, the sign of the wave function and an electron trajectory
Model notes
A non-relativistic stationary-state model of the hydrogen atom. Points are sampled in volume from |ψ|², which shows the distribution of independent position measurements: not an electron present at many places at once and not a trajectory. Colour marks the sign of the wave function, not charge. The nucleus is drawn enlarged, and each orbital uses a different display scale.