In the article on In physics, magnetism is a phenomenon by which materials exert an attractive or repulsive force on other materials. Some well known materials that exhibit easily detectable magnetic properties are iron, some steels, and the mineral lodestone; however, all materials are influenced to one degree or another by the presence of... Magnetism, it states that the physical cause of an atomic magnetic dipole (or moment) is two kinds of movement of electrons.

This article clarifies (‽) that electrons don’t actually move in their orbitals. When Fig. 1: The wavefunctions of an electron in a hydrogen atom possessing definite energy (increasing downward: n=1,2,3,...) and angular momentum (increasing across: s, p, d,...). Brighter areas correspond to higher probability density for a position measurement. The angular momentum and energy are quantized, and only take on... quantum mechanics refer to “electron orbital motion” they are actually referring to the spacial wave function of the electron.

Just as In physics, spin is an intrinsic angular momentum associated with microscopic particles. It is a purely quantum mechanical phenomenon without any analogy in classical mechanics. Whereas classical angular momentum arises from the rotation of an extended object, spin is not associated with any rotating internal masses, but is intrinsic to... spin doesn’t mean the particle is actually spinning around an axis in the classical sense, orbital motion doesn’t mean the particle is revolving around the The nucleus (atomic nucleus) is the center of an atom. It is composed of one or more protons and one or more neutrons as well, except for the nucleus consisting of a single proton. The number of protons in an atoms nucleus is called the atomic number, and determines... nucleus in the sense of the The Bohr model of the atom The Bohr Model is a physical model that depicts the atom as a small positively charged nucleus with electrons in orbit at different levels, similar in structure to the solar system. Because of its simplicity, the Bohr model is still commonly used and taught... Bohr model. Likewise, the orbital angular momentum is a The Azimuthal quantum number (or orbital angular momentum quantum number) l is a quantum number for an atomic orbital which determines its orbital angular momentum. Their wavefunctions take the form of spherical harmonics, and so are described by Legendre polynomials. The various orbitals relating to different values of l are... quantum value inherent in the electron’s orbital energy state, even though nothing is moving in the classical sense. Furthermore, current loops caused by this orbital motion are also linguistic licence on the part of physicists, because there is neither current (movement of a charge) nor looping going on; but, the mathematical description is very much like that of a classic current loop.

See Also

• An atomic orbital is the description of the behavior of an electron in an atom according to quantum mechanics. It describes the probability of the electron being in any location, and its energy (see Electron orbital for more background details). The orbitals of the hydrogen atom are used to describe... Atomic orbital
• An orbital (also electron orbital) is the description of the behavior of an electron in an atom or molecule according to quantum mechanics. According to quantum mechanics, an electron in an atom or molecule has two curious properties: 1. An electrons position in space is not determined, but its... Electron orbital

External Links

• Primer on Quantum Theory of the Atom (http://www.chem1.com/acad/webtut/atomic/qprimer/#Q26)
• MadSci.org explaination (http://www.madsci.org/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/www/circR?/posts/archives/2005-04/1113399101.Ph.r.html)