Electron cloud shapes and quantum leaps...

[Fishteacher73]

I puzzled whether to post here or in the chemistry forum, but the physics forum is a bit more traveled and quantum chemistry stradles the line a bit...

I personally have always been uncomfortable with elctron quantum leaps from one orbital to another, It just seems that things should not ping from one place into another.

 

Here are my base assumptions and their ramifications...perhaps this is where my error lies and this can be sorted out, but it seems that if I see things as I have, that there may be some ways to explain and alter this paradox.

 

1. Electron quantum leaps are from one orbital to another. (the next orpital corresponding to either increased or decreased energy).

2. Current electron cloud models are based on probability and on static molecular geometry.

 

The idea that occured to me, is that as energy is either put inot or removed, these electron cloud shapes could be warped, ie overlap. As the energy neccesary for an electron to assume the general probability in the new orbital, it is back into the "base" state of the orbital likely to be found in the most likely areas acording to current models (Hamiltonian mechanics).

 

Any major flaws or problems that arise from this... Quantum mechanics has never really been my friend, so I may have some massive oversights...So I thought I would throw out the idea and see what sticks..

Thanks.

Fish

[Qfwfq]

The orbitals are the solutions not of the Schrödinger equation but of the eigenvalue equation for the Hamiltonian operator, which is also called the "steady state Schrödinger equation". The Schrödinger equation is the actual time evolution equation of the state.

 

Loosely, however, one can approximate the transition between two orbitals as a coherent linear superposition of these, each multiplied by a phase factor having frequency as given by the De Broglie-Einstein relation, for each orbital's energy. The beat frequency will, quite obviously, correspond to the energy level difference. Many semi-classical arguments match up quite well. For instance, considering the charge density as proportional to the probability density, the electric dipole moment will have an oscillation like a tiny antenna if and only if it is a good transition (selection rules).

 

You can find many details (maybe even too many for your liking!) in books such as Eisberg-Resnik, or McGervey.