mahela007 Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 When reading anything about the Max Planck's work we often come across the "oscillation of an electron". I've just managed to get around to understanding electron orbitals... The dumbbell shape for P orbitals, spherical shapes for S and so on.. (at a very basic level). From what I understand we can't predict with certainty where the electron will be.. This sounds to me like a random movement within the specified orbital. In that case, what's this oscillation I keep reading about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansont Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Even though you can't predict a location, since they just don't travel in classical trajectories, there is an oscillation frequency associated with the electrons. They are confined in a potential well with a certain energy. When they make transitions, they can be seen as acting like electric dipoles (or, more rarely, magnetic or electric quadrupoles) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mahela007 Posted July 14, 2009 Author Share Posted July 14, 2009 you mean when they jump between energy levels? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansont Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 Yes. Many transitions emit radiation just like a dipole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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