Wave model

The wave model of the atom takes the basic idea of the Bohr model of the atom where there is a small dense nucleus surrounded by electrons, but the electrons are represented by a probability distribution instead of by discrete mathematical points. Thus they are often described as the "electron cloud".

External adresses

• Standing waves and atomic orbitals (http://www.susqu.edu/facstaff/M/kmiller/collchem/2002/atomicorbitals.htm) Quote: "...Electrons may or may not be particles, depending on when and where we look at them. When physicists tried to explain electron behavior in the atom, the equations - models - turned out to be describing standing waves. These equations - what we call wave functions or better yet, orbitals- had four variables which changed depending on which electron, in which atom you were looking at. These four variables are known as the four quantum numbers....".
• Atomic Orbitals (http://www.chemistry.nmsu.edu/studntres/chem111/resources/notes/atomic_orbitals)
• The Orbitron (http://www.shef.ac.uk/chemistry/orbitron/) a gallery of atomic orbitals and molecular orbitals on the WWW.
• Quote: (http://members.tripod.com/mwolff/see) "...Actually, in the H atom both the electron wave-structure and the proton have the same center. The electron's structure can be imagined like an onion - spherical layers of waves around a center. The amplitude of the waves decreases like the blue standing wave in the bottom diagram. There are no point masses - no orbits, just waves..."
• 8 August 2002, Electrons probe single atoms (http://physicsweb.org/article/news/6/8/6/1)
• 24 October 2002, First light for attophysics (http://physicsweb.org/article/news/6/10/17)
• 20 June 2001, Quantum spin probe able to measure spin states at individual atoms; could have application in quantum computing (http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2001/06/20_physc)
• 16 Feb 2000 First-ever images of atom-scale electron clouds in high-temperature superconductors could help in design of new and better materials (http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2000/02/02-16-2000), alternate address (http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~davisgrp/stm/papers/ZnImpurity/berk_press_rel/02-16-2000).