Shrodinger Equation Explanation
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Shrodinger Equation Explanation
Hello, I'm kind of confused on the shrodinger equation and what each part of it means. Could someone possibly explain what exactly the equation is for and what the individual pieces of the equation represent?
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Re: Shrodinger Equation Explanation
Hi!
The schrodinger equation is meant to explain the movement of an electron around an orbital, which can be described through many different functions since each electron behaves differently. When you take the double derivative of the wave function which is the hamiltonian (H) you get the wave function describing the energy of the electron in that orbital (Hpsi = Epsi). We can also use schrodinger's equation to help us determine the probability of finding an electron at a certain position within that orbital.
I hope this helps!
The schrodinger equation is meant to explain the movement of an electron around an orbital, which can be described through many different functions since each electron behaves differently. When you take the double derivative of the wave function which is the hamiltonian (H) you get the wave function describing the energy of the electron in that orbital (Hpsi = Epsi). We can also use schrodinger's equation to help us determine the probability of finding an electron at a certain position within that orbital.
I hope this helps!
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Re: Shrodinger Equation Explanation
to add on to what was already said here, I wanted to elaborate more on the idea of probability. For the sake of this course, we need to know that psi represents the wave function itself, while (psi)^2 is the probability of finding an electron in a certain region of the wave function. The double derivative, or Hamiltonian, will result in values for the energy changes the electron experiences when moving between energy levels, and the accuracy of these approximations can be judged based off of the Rydberg equation. Hope this helps!
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Re: Shrodinger Equation Explanation
I was also really confused about Shrodinger equation, but basically it's just an equation that gives us math functions that represent electrons (orbitals). When you apply the Hamiltonian derivative to a certain wavefunction, it will give you that wavefunction and an energy value. We compare that energy value to the energy values that we have determined experimentally from atomic spectra; if they match up then the wavefunction (orbital) can be used to represent an electron mathematically.
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