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Atomic Structure

Atomic Structure

The Greek philosopher Democritus proposed that everything on Earth is made up of tiny particles called atomos, Greek for "indivisible," from which the modern term "atom" is derived. In the 19th century, John Dalton proposed the atomic theory that is still largely correct today. He put forth five postulates to explain how atoms made up the world around us. (1) All matter is composed of infinitely small particles or atoms. (2) All atoms of a given element are identical to one...

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An atom comprises protons and neutrons, which are contained inside the dense, central core called the nucleus, with electrons present around the nucleus. Taking into account the wave–particle duality of electrons and the uncertainty in position around the nucleus, quantum mechanics provides a more accurate model for the atomic structure. It describes atomic orbitals as the regions around the nucleus where electrons of discrete energy exist, characterized by four quantum...

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Dalton was only partially correct about the particles that make up matter. All matter is composed of atoms, and atoms are composed of three smaller subatomic particles: protons, neutrons, and electrons. These three particles account for the mass and the charge of an atom.

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An atomic orbital represents the three-dimensional regions in an atom where an electron has the highest probability to reside. The radial distribution function indicates the total probability of finding an electron within the thin shell at a distance r from the nucleus. The atomic orbitals have distinct shapes which are determined by l, the angular momentum quantum number. The orbitals are often drawn with a boundary surface, enclosing densest regions of the cloud.

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Pure substances consist of only one type of matter. A pure substance can be an element or a compound. An element consists of only one type of atom, while a compound consists of two or more types of atoms held together by a chemical bond.
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Elements are classified as atomic or molecular based on the nature of their basic units. They are unique forms of matter with specific chemical and physical properties that cannot break down into smaller substances by ordinary chemical reactions. There...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 29, 2026

Atomic Scale Structural Studies of Macromolecular Assemblies by Solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Atomic Scale Structural Studies of Macromolecular Assemblies by Solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Published on: September 17, 2017

The Shell Structure of Atoms.

Georg Eickerling¹, Markus Reiher¹

¹Laboratorium für Physikalische Chemie, ETH Zurich, Hönggerberg Campus, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 10, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland.

Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation

|December 2, 2015

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

The Laplacian of electron density reveals atomic shell structures, but fails for heavy elements. This study shows inner shell nodal structures diminish valence shells in transition metals.

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Area of Science:

Quantum Chemistry
Atomic Physics
Computational Chemistry

Background:

Atomic shell structure is not directly visible in total electron density.
Various localization functions exist to visualize atomic shells.
Existing methods fail for heavy elements and transition metals.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the radial structure of isolated atoms using the Laplacian of electron density.
To understand why some electronic shells diminish in heavy elements and transition metals.
To assess the experimental feasibility of observing these topological changes.

Main Methods:

Focus on the Laplacian of the electron density to analyze radial atomic structure.
Utilize a fully relativistic, four-component computational approach.
Employ a multiconfigurational ansatz for the wave function, applicable to all elements.

Main Results:

Demonstrate that the nodal structure of inner shell orbitals causes the diminution of valence shells in third-row transition metals.
Analyze the impact of different electronic configurations on atomic shell structure.
Evaluate the magnitude of changes in the Laplacian of radial density for experimental relevance.

Conclusions:

The nodal structure of inner orbitals is key to understanding valence shell diminution in transition metals.
Relativistic, multiconfigurational methods provide a general framework for studying atomic shell structure across the periodic table.
Observed changes in the Laplacian of radial density may be experimentally detectable.