Orbital - Chem Definition

[Edsel]

I remember reading an interesting description of an electron's movement. Paraphrasing here because I don't remember where I found it.

It's much like the spinning blades of a fan, occupying a volume, yet you can't tell exactly where a given blade is at any given moment. The difference is that the fan blades only appear to be everywhere in that volume, but an electron actually is everywhere in its orbital volume.

[TExile]

Im just creeped out by the intro of this video, but love the lesson lol

[madzyadzy]

I started chemistry this year in College and this channel has made it a lot easier! Thanks you so much!

[JustToaster]

My anorganic chemistry professor said that he could talk for days about everything that is known about orbitals. But this sums it all up nicely without talking about squared wavefunctions etc.

[KingHypnosOne]

"Im Running out of hands" xD lol...Great videos (Y) !

[johnclavis]

The understanding of orbitals and how they explain chemical interaction is one of the most awe-inspiring theories in the whole of science. The fact that we can understand this suite of actual, physical, understandable shapes, produced by electrons, acting in concern with quadrillions of other similar shapes, responsible for macro-effects as diverse as pigment, elasticity and combustion, among a million other phenomena... it's quite staggering.

Thanks for the video, as always!

[birddog]

Another WOW! Chemistry sure has change since I took it many years ago.

[scottseptember]

1) Pure AO's continued: The same goes for the shape of the pure p Atomic Orbitals, etc. All derived from math.

2) Unpure/Hybrid AO's: Since an electron (like a photon) acts as a wave, it can combine with other electron waves such as the electron probability regions (orbitals) in combinations of either constructive (add up) and destructive (subtract) interference (which is the adding or subtracting of waves, in this case mathematical wave functions of electron probability regions).

[Ralphgtx]

there are about 1000 highschool chemistry teachers that hate you right now for bursting the bubble they formed around their students

[mcchuff]

Finally, these videos are beginning to get a little more in-depth.

[pdxyarnho]

I've never seen models like that before - now the orbital concept makes so much more sense to me! Thanks :)

[skrame]

Excellent video professor! It would be great to see more videos with interesting explanations of reactions in terms of what the atoms and electrons are doing!

[ThePharphis]

Super late answer but for anyone else wondering what the difference b/w the 3rd and 4th d-orbitals shown it's that the 4th one has the lobes ON the axes, and the first 3 d-orbitals are NOT on the axes

[thegamingruler]

YOU ARE MAKING A HOLE NEW GENERATION OF CHEMISTS KEEP UP THE AWSOME WORK

[scottseptember]

2) Unpure/Hybrid AO's continued: When pure Atomic Orbitals of the "same" atom "mix" (add and subtract their mathematical wave functions due to constructive and destructive interference), they produce "unpure/Hybrid" Atomic orbitals/electron probability regions that are NEW SHAPES derived from, again, the math.

[scottseptember]

To get a better understanding of orbitals, replace "orbital" with "electron probability region", which is where the electron will reside most of the time. It's a probability because we can't know where an electron exactly is, which is why we're not representing them as discrete particles that revolve around the nucleus at known distances, analogous to solar system.

[garathon]

Fantastic. I always remember doing Leaving Cert chemistry and wanting to know what the D & F orbitals looked like. The teacher said it was too complicated and I had to wait for college. Thankfully there's now youtube :D

[christoronto]

Awesome! I will definitely tell my chemistry teacher to show us this!

[kurtilein]

@foolvers

for a deeper understanding: because of the Pauli exclusion principle, two electrons cannot be at the same place and time and have the same spin. but you never really know where they are, only statistically. So the orbital is a shape, in which a specific electron will be with a specific probability. so you ask "where is that electron with 90% probability?", and you get an orbital.

[Squagnut]

@Sparkanoid1 We can't see through opaque objects because their electron orbits are arranged so that they either absorb photons (e.g. black card) or reflect them (e.g. a mirror). Clear glass, on the other hand, doesn't absorb them, so we can see through it. Most everyday solid objects are billions of atoms thick, so the photons don't stand a chance. It's mostly empty space, but that doesn't mean it isn't busy - like traffic on a busy road is mostly gaps, but you still can't cross it easily.