How are the electrons in a hydrogen atom degenerate?
The electron in the hydrogen atom is confined in the potential well, and its total energy is negative. The energy levels are degenerate, meaning that the electron in the hydrogen atom can be in different states, with different wave functions, labeled by different quantum numbers, and still have the same energy.
How is the potential energy of a hydrogen atom chosen?
The figure on the right shows the shape of U(r) in a plane containing the origin. The potential energy is chosen to be zero at infinity. The electron in the hydrogen atom is confined in the potential well, and its total energy is negative.
Is there an electric field around neutral atoms?
Strictly speaking, yes, I believe neutral atoms have an electric field (though very weak). For example, if you have a hydrogen atom in the ground state, the absolute magnitude of the wave function of the electron decreases exponentially with radius (for a sufficiently large radius), so there is a…
What is the quantum number of a hydrogen atom?
Here n is called the principle quantum number. The values En are the possible value for the total electron energy (kinetic and potential energy) in the hydrogen atom. The average potential energy is -me4/(ħ2n2) and the average kinetic energy is me4/(2ħ2n2).
How many protons and electrons are in a hydrogen molecule?
There are actually two different things we call hydrogen: a hydrogen atom (or ion), and a hydrogen molecule. A hydrogen molecule consists of 2 hydrogen atoms, denoted [math]H_2 [/math]. A hydrogen atom has one electron and one proton, so a hydrogen molecule has 2 of each. How many neutrons there are in a hydrogen nucleus can vary.
How is the state of a hydrogen atom described?
A hydrogen atom can be described in terms of its wave function, probability density, total energy, and orbital angular momentum. The state of an electron in a hydrogen atom is specified by its quantum numbers (n, l, m). In contrast to the Bohr model of the atom, the Schrödinger model makes predictions based on probability statements.
How is Schrodinger’s equation of the hydrogen atom reduced?
As a result, Schrödinger’s equation of the hydrogen atom reduces to two simpler equations: one that depends only on space ( x, y, z) and another that depends only on time ( t ). (The separation of a wave function into space- and time-dependent parts for time-independent potential energy functions is discussed in Quantum Mechanics .)