23.2. The Quantum Mechanical Model of the Atom http://www.ck12.org
23.2 The Quantum Mechanical Model of the
Atom
- Describe the quantum mechanical model of the atom.
- Indicate the possible values for thenquantum number and indicate what information thenquantum number
gives about the electron. - Indicate the possible values for thelquantum number and indicate what information thelquantum number
gives about the electron. - Indicate the possible values for themquantum number and indicate what information themquantum number
gives about the electron.
Erwin Schrödinger (1887 – 1961) was an Austrian physicist who achieved fame for his contributions to quantum
mechanics, especially the Schrödinger equation, for which he received the Nobel Prize in 1933. His development
of what is known as Schrödinger’s wave equation was made during the first half of 1926. It came as a result of his
dissatisfaction with the quantum condition in Bohr’s orbit theory and his belief that atomic spectra should really be
determined by some kind of discrete energy value.
The Quantum Mechanical Model of the Atom
Most definitions ofquantum theoryand quantum mechanics offer the same description for both. These definitions
essentially describe quantum theory as a theory in which both energy and matter have characteristics of waves under
some conditions and characteristics of particles under other conditions.
Quantum theory suggests that energy comes in discrete packages calledquanta(or, in the case of electromagnetic
radiation,photons). Quantum theory has some mathematical development, often referred to as quantum mechanics,
that offers explanations for the behavior of electrons inside the electron clouds of atoms.
The wave-particle duality of electrons within the electron cloud limits our ability to measure both the energy and
the position of an electron simultaneously. The more accurately we measure either the energy or the position of