Orbitals

An orbital is a region of space that can be occupied by electron density. In this case, we are thinking of an electron as a wave. The wave-nature of the electron can be characterized by a wavefunction calculated from the Schrodinger equation. The 3D region of space we know as an orbital is determined by taking the square of the wavefunction.

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Orbital Characteristics

There are two basic shapes of orbitals that we will need to be familiar with. They are a sphere and a dumbbell that correspond to the s and p orbitals, respectively.

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Aside from the shapes and sizes of orbitals, let's explore some further details of orbitals!

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