Could someone interpret this statement from 1E.5 in the textbook:
"Electrons in an s-orbital are more effective than those in other orbitals at shielding other electrons from the nuclear charge because an electron in an s-orbital can penetrate to the nucleus of the atom."
I understand that the electrons in the lowest orbital are most effective at "shielding" high electron orbitals but what does the textbook mean when it explains why this is?
Effective Nuclear Charge
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Re: Effective Nuclear Charge
What it means by "penetrate" is that since the s orbital electrons are close to the nucleus, they are the only ones that are able to in a sense "interact/penetrate" with the nucleus. Because other orbitals are "shielded" from the nucleus by the s orbital, that could only mean that the s orbitals are the only ones able to do something with the nucleus, and in the context of this problem, "penetrate." I hope this helps!
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Re: Effective Nuclear Charge
Because the shielding effect of negatively charged electrons prevents higher orbital electrons from experiencing the full nuclear charge.
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Re: Effective Nuclear Charge
I think because s-orbitals are spherical and have no nodal planes, the probability of finding an electron at the nucleus is not technically zero. Thus, electrons in the s-orbital can penetrate to the nucleus of the atom. This causes more effective shielding, making electrons farther away from this s-orbital experience lower effective nuclear charges.
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