The wave properties of electromagnetic

radiation are described by two interdependent

variables.
Frequency (ν, Greek nu) is the number of cycles the wave undergoes per
second and is expressed in units of 1/second [s¯¹; also called hertz (Hz)].

Wavelength (λ, Greek lambda) is the distance between any point on a wave
and the corresponding point on the next crest (or trough) of the wave, that is,
the distance the wave travels during one cycle. Wavelength is expressed in
meters and often, for very short wavelengths, in nanometers (nm, 10¯⁹ m),
picometers (pm, 10¯¹² m), or the non-SI unit angstroms (Å, 10¯¹⁰ m).
The speed of the wave, the distance traveled per unit time (in units of
meters per second), is the product of its frequency (cycles per second)
and its wavelength (meters per cycle):

In a vacuum, all types of electromagnetic radiation travel at

2.99792458 × 10⁸ m/s (3.00 × 10⁸ m/s to three significant figures),
which is a physical constant called the speed of light (c):

radiation with a high frequency has a short wavelength, and vice versa
All the waves in the spectrum
travel at the same speed through Light of a single wavelength is called monochromatic (Greek, “one
a vacuum but differ in frequency color”), whereas light of many wavelengths is polychromatic.
and, therefore, wavelength
(1) blackbody radiation, (2) the photoelectric effect, and (3) atomic spectra
Max Planck

where E is the energy of the radiation, ν is its frequency, n is

a positive integer (1, 2, 3, and so on) called a quantum
number, and h is a proportionality constant now known very
precisely and called Planck’s constant (6.626 × 10¯³⁴ J•s)
An atom can emit only certain quantities of energy. The atom
itself can have only certain quantities of energy.
Thus, the energy of an atom is quantized: it exists only in certain fixed
quantities, rather than being continuous.

- energy packet is called a quantum (“fixed quantity”; plural, quanta), and its
energy is equal to hν.

Thus, an atom changes its energy state by emitting (or absorbing) one or
more quanta, and the energy of the emitted (or absorbed) radiation is equal
to the difference in the atom’s energy states:
Albert Einstein proposed that light itself is particulate, that is,
quantized into small “bundles” of electromagnetic energy, which were
later called photons.
Energy: fixed quantity and discrete particles
Niels Bohr (1885–1962)
1. The H atom has only certain allowable energy levels, which Bohr called
stationary states. Each of these states is associated with a fixed circular
orbit of the electron around the nucleus.
2. The atom does not radiate energy while in one of its stationary states.
That is, even though it violates the ideas of classical physics, the atom
does not change energy while the electron moves within an orbit.
3. The atom changes to another stationary state (the electron moves to
another orbit) only by absorbing or emitting a photon whose energy
equals the difference in energy between the two states:
• In Bohr’s model, the quantum number n (1, 2, 3, . . .) is associated
with the radius of an electron orbit, which is directly related to the
electron’s energy: the lower the n value, the smaller the radius of the
orbit, and the lower the energy level.
• When the electron is in the first orbit (n = 1), the orbit closest to the
nucleus, the H atom is in its lowest (first) energy level, called the
ground state. If the H atom absorbs a photon whose energy equals
the difference between the first and second energy levels, the
electron moves to the second orbit (n = 2), the next orbit out from
the nucleus. When the electron is in the second or any higher orbit,
the atom is said to be in an excited state.
As a picture of the atom, the Bohr model is incorrect, but we still use
the terms “ground state” and “excited state” and retain one of Bohr’s
central ideas in our current model:

the energy of an atom occurs in discrete levels

The early proponents of quantum theory demonstrated that energy is
particlelike. Physicists who developed the theory turned this proposition
upside down and showed that matter is wavelike.

Louis de Broglie:
if energy is particle-like, perhaps matter is
wavelike.
In the classical view of the world, a moving particle has a
definite location at any instant, whereas a wave is spread out
in space. If an electron has the properties of both a particle
and a wave, what can we determine about its position in the
atom?
In 1927, the German physicist Werner Heisenberg postulated the
uncertainty principle, which states that it is impossible to know the
exact position and momentum (mass times speed) of a particle
simultaneously.
We cannot assign fixed paths for electrons, such as the circular orbits of
Bohr’s model.
The most we can ever hope to know is the probability—the odds—of
finding an electron in a given region of space; but we are not sure it is
there any more than a gambler is sure of the next roll of the dice.
quantum mechanics - examines the wave nature of objects
on the atomic scale.
In 1926, Erwin Schrödinger derived an equation that is the basis for the
quantum-mechanical model of the hydrogen atom. The model describes an
atom that has certain allowed quantities of energy due to the allowed
frequencies of an electron whose behavior is wavelike and whose exact
location is impossible to know.
atomic orbital
It’s important to keep in mind that an “orbital” in the
quantum-mechanical model bears no resemblance to
an “orbit” in the Bohr model: an orbit was, supposedly,
an electron’s path around the nucleus, whereas an
orbital is a mathematical function with no direct
physical meaning.
probability density, a measure of the probability that the electron can
be found within a particular tiny volume of the atom.
For a given energy level, we can depict this probability with an electron
probability density diagram, or more simply, an electron density
diagram/electron cloud.
An atomic orbital is specified by three quantum numbers. One
is related to the orbital’s size, another to its shape, and the
third to its orientation in space.
1. The principal quantum number (n) is a positive integer (1, 2, 3, and
so forth).
It indicates the relative size of the orbital. The principal quantum
number specifies the energy level of the H atom: the higher the n
value, the higher the energy level. When the electron occupies an
orbital with n = 1, the H atom is in its ground state and has lower
energy than when the electron occupies the n = 2 orbital (first excited
state).
2. The angular momentum quantum number (l) is an integer from 0 to n - 1.
It is related to the shape of the orbital and is sometimes called the
orbital-shape (or azimuthal) quantum number. Note that the principal
quantum number sets a limit on the values for the angular momentum
quantum number; that is, n limits l. For an orbital with n = 1, l can have a
value of only 0. For orbitals with n = 2, l can have a value of 0 or 1; for those
with n = 3, l can be 0, 1, or 2; and so forth. Note that the number of possible
l values equals the value of n.
3. The magnetic quantum number (𝒎𝒍 ) is an integer from -l through 0 to +l.
It prescribes the orientation of the orbital in the space around the
nucleus and is sometimes called the orbital-orientation quantum number. The
possible values of an orbital’s magnetic quantum number are set by its
angular momentum quantum number; that is, l sets the possible values of 𝑚𝑙 .
An orbital with l = 0 can have only 𝑚𝑙 = 0. However, an orbital with l = 1 can
have any one of three 𝑚𝑙 values, -1, 0, or +1; thus, there are three possible
orbitals with l = 1, each with its own orientation. Note that the number of
possible 𝑚𝑙 values equals the number of orbitals, which is 2l + 1 for a given l
value.
1. Level. The atom’s energy levels, or shells, are given by the n value: the
smaller the n value, the lower the energy level and the greater the
probability of the electron being closer to the nucleus.
2. Sublevel. The atom’s levels contain sublevels, or subshells, which
designate the orbital shape. Each sublevel has a letter
designation:
l = 0 is an s sublevel.
l = 1 is a p sublevel.
l = 2 is a d sublevel.
l =3 is an f sublevel.
sharp, principal, diffuse, and fundamental
3. Orbital. Each allowed combination of n, l, and 𝒎𝒍 values specifies
one of the atom’s orbitals. Thus, the three quantum numbers that
describe an orbital express its size (energy), shape, and spatial
orientation. You can easily give the quantum numbers of the orbitals in
any sublevel if you know the sublevel letter designation and the
quantum number hierarchy. For example, the 2s sublevel has only one
orbital, and its quantum numbers are n = 2, l = 0, and 𝑚𝑙 = 0. The 3p
sublevel has three orbitals: one with n = 3, l = 1, and 𝑚𝑙 = 1; another
with n = 3, l = 1, and 𝑚𝑙 = 0; and a third with n = 3, l = 1, and 𝑚𝑙 = 1.