Erwin Schrödinger
Quantum Numbers (ErwinSchrödinger)
A powerful model of the atom was developed by Erwin Schrödinger in 1926. Schrödingercombined the equations for the behavior of waves with the de Broglie equation to generatea mathematical model for the distribution of electrons in an atom. The advantage of thismodel is that it consists of mathematical equations known as wave functions thatsatisfy the requirements placed on the behavior of electrons. The disadvantage is that itis difficult to imagine a physical model of electrons as waves.
The Schrödinger model assumes that the electron is a wave and tries to describe theregions in space, or orbitals, where electrons are most likely to be found. Instead oftrying to tell us where the electron is at any time, the Schrödinger model describes theprobability that an electron can be found in a given region of space at a given time. Thismodel no longer tells us where the electron is; it only tells us where it might be.
The Bohr model was a one-dimensional model that used one quantum number to describe thedistribution of electrons in the atom. The only information that was important was the sizeof the orbit, which was described by the n quantum number. Schrödinger's modelallowed the electron to occupy three-dimensional space. It therefore required threecoordinates, or three quantum numbers, to describe the orbitals in which electrons can befound.
The three coordinates that come from Schrödinger's wave equations are the principal (n),angular (l), and magnetic (m) quantum numbers. These quantum numbersdescribe the size, shape, and orientation in space of the orbitals on an atom.
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