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orbital shells and energy levels

High school and undergrad physics teaches that electrons change energy levels when they emit or absorb a photon.

They also cover orbital shells (moreso in chem than physics).

But they never draw a connection at that level of study.

So is there a connection? Are orbital energy levels related to shells?

I don't expect the answer is that an electron would jump to an outer shell and leave an inner one less than full. But still, it seems likely there is a relationship between these things that is not covered in the 101-102 courses.

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Reply to
Tom Del Rosso
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Have you Googled?

As far as I know they are, indeed, connected -- all of the orbitals are available for an electron to go into even in a hydrogen atom, but the S1 orbital is the lowest-energy one, so that's where an unexcited electron goes. Presumably an excited electron goes to another orbital, until it can emit a photon.

It's all complicated by the fact that the orbital size and energy changes under the electrostatic influence of the nucleus and the surrounding electrons.

And -- that's about where my already-foggy knowledge just peters out.

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Tim Wescott
Control system and signal processing consulting
www.wescottdesign.com
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Tim Wescott

I've googled enough questions to know that isn't always the best way to find an answer.

Bonding just got even more complicated.

Thanks!

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Tom Del Rosso

At some point, quantum mechanics doesn't allow for answers to questions like that. The photon energy comes from the change in electron energy.

If you are asking about s, p, d, f, orbitals, those are different angular momentum states, and the complications of the energy relate to the interaction between electrons. You are allowed to ask about that, though the answers aren't so easy.

It will when it absorbs a photon, or otherwise gets more energy.

One interesting process is the Auger effect. If you knock out an inner shell electron, usually K shell. Another falls into its place, but instead of emitting a photon it instead knocks another electron out. The energy of that electron is related to the three levels involved, and has a fairly well defined energy. (That is, narrow line width.)

-- glen

Reply to
glen herrmannsfeldt

I think you are wrong. High school physics teaches that the lower shells are the first to be filled. "Lowest" then means lowest in energy. So energy levels are actually mentioned.

Why not? If it absorbs a photon (as in your first sentence) they could nicely jump to an outer shell (or completely out of the atom!)

It is likely indeed that not everything is covered in there..

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Jos
Reply to
Jos Bergervoet

A factoid that has stuck with me for decades is that in the X-ray lasers that we were so noisily building in the 1980's to sucker the Russians into bankrupting themselves, the laser action came from an electron in an inner shell falling into _another_ inner shell. I can't remember what element it was that was involved, but I do remember it was middling heavy (copper?).

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My liberal friends think I'm a conservative kook.
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Why am I not happy that they have found common ground?

Tim Wescott, Communications, Control, Circuits & Software
http://www.wescottdesign.com
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Tim Wescott

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