quantum numbers

[Paloma Sanchez 3L]

What does does n, l, m1, ms specifically stand for? I'm also a bit confused on how to figure out what they are.

[Julie Mai 1K]

Hi!

n describes the energy level or electron shell of the element. The possible values of n is 1,2,3,4,..etc. l describes the angular momentum of an electron. It represents what orbital the element is in. The possible values of l is 0,1,2,3.. (n-1). In l, 0 represents the s-orbital, 1 represents the p-orbital, 2 represents the d-orbital, 3 represents the f-orbital. ml describes the orientation of the angular momentum. the allowed values of ml is l, l-1, -l. ms describes the spin of the element. 1/2 represents a spin up state and -1/2 represents a spin down state. I hope this helped!

[michaelcrisera]

n is the principle quantum number. This can be any positive integer and refers to the energy level of an electron.
l is the angular momentum quantum number. This can be any integer from 0 to n-1. l refers to the shape of the orbital in which the electron is located (s, p, d, f, etc.)
ml is the magnetic quantum number. This can be any integer in the range [-l, l] inclusive. This refers to the specific position within the sub shell where the electron is.
ms is the magnetic spin quantum number. This can either have a value of +1/2 or -1/2. ms refers to the direction of the spin of an electron, and is used in denoting electron pairing.

[Kaitlyn Bateman 1L]

Hi!
I don't believe that the specific letters stand for anything exactly (like n doesn't refer to something that starts with an n)
n refers to the shell number
l refers to the subshell type (s,p,d,f)
ml refers to the orbital
ms is the magnetic spin

[Lawrence Tran 2H]

The other replies explained what they mean, but your question made me wonder too WHY we use those symbols. I found a satisfying answer at this link: https://physics.stackexchange.com/quest ... symbols-ma

A summary from that answer:

"The principle quantum number got n because it was introduced in the context of quantization of angular momentum and n was used already used to denote the quantization of energy in light.

The azimuthal quantum number got l because the constant in Legendre's equation is written using l by convention.

Magnetic quantum number m gets it from the word "magnetic".

The spin quantum number s gets its name from the word "spin".

Also, the fact that each quantum number depends on the previous one justifies its ordering."

[Kimia Rategh 2A]

N is the principle quantum number which basically tells you the energy level. This number can be anything greater than 1 really.
L is the angular momentum quantum number which tells you the subshell. This number can technically be anything from 0 to n-1 however I believe we mostly deal with 0,1,2,3 since they correlate with the s,p,d, and f orbitals respectively.
Ml is the magnetic quantum number which generally tells you what orbital within the s,p,d, or f subshell the electron is. Ml is normally any number between -l, and l. There is no specific rule as to which value of ml corresponds with which subshell so as long as you provide a legend you can stick any number with any orbital.
Finally, ms is the magnetic spin quantum number which tells you whether the electron is spin up or spin down. +1/2 means the electron is spin up and -1/2 means the electron is spin down.

[Shawn Suen]

N tells you how which shell the electron is in
L tells you which specific spdf orbital the electron is in
Ml tells you the specific orbital shape the electron is in
Ms tells you the spin of the electron

[Yajing Feng 2J]

n is the principle quantum number which represents the energy level or electron shell.
l is the angular momentum quantum number or the subshell.
ml represents the orbital.
ms represents the magnetic spin.

You can figure out each of this by either looking at the specific energy blocks (s-block, p-block) and the rows and columns on the periodic table or you can count and order the electrons based on the atomic number.

[Simone Byun 1F]

n, l, ml, and ms can be thought of as the "address" of an electron in an atom. n tells the energy level or shell (1, 2, 3, 4...). l tells the subshell of the energy level with values of n - 1 (0, 1, 2, 3 ...). ml is the orbital of the subshell with values of l, l - 1, and -l. ms will either be +1/2 or -1/2 as it tells which direction the electron is spinning.

[Heba Bounar 3K]

Hi!
n is the principal quantum number, and it represents the energy level the electron is at. l is the angular momentum quantum number, and it represents the sublevel the electron is at. ml is the magnetic quantum number, and it represents the orbital the electron is in. ms is the spin number, and it represents the spin of the electron. Values of l range from 0 to n-1. Values of ml range from -l to l. The spin number is equal to either -1/2 or +1/2 because electrons in an orbital are spin paired. Hope this helps!

[sidneypalacios]

n describes the energy level (n=1,2,3...). l represents angular momentum. ml represents the orbital and ms represents the magnetic spin.

[Ananya Sridharan]

N stands for the energy level. So if you had a orbital like 4s, n would equal 4. l stands for the shape of the orbital. So s=0, p=1, and so on. Ml is associated with stuff like Px so you have to define what each number means. It can go from -l to +l. And Ms refers to spin either -1/2 or +1/2.

[Jieun 2C]

n is the principal quantum number and refers to the shell the electron is in.
l is the angular momentum quantum number and refers to the subshell of the electron, which defines the shape of the orbital.
ml is the magnetic quantum number and refers to the orbital of the electron and the orientation.
ms is the magnetic spin quantum number and refers to the orientation of the spin axis of the electron. The only two possible directions for the spin are usually referred to as up or down.

[Quinn W 2A]

n- "principle quantum #" determines energy and size. This basically stands for what energy you are at, if n=2 then your energy level is 2 (2s, 2p, 2d, 2f).
l- "angular momentum quantum #" describes shape. This basically tells you what subshell your in (l=0 --> s, l=1 --> p, l=2 --> d, l=3 --> f).
ml - "magnetic quantum #" labels which orbital. ml can be a bit confusing, it can be any whole number from -l>l. If l=2 then ml can be -2, -1, 0, 1, 2.

[Kimberly_martinez2I]

n- principal quantum number that determines energy and size, refers to the shell
l- angular momentum quantum number that describes the shape and subshell: (l=0 s-subshell, l=1 p-subshell, l=2 d-subshell, l=3 f-subshell)
ml- magnetic quantum number which labels different orbitals of a subshell. Ex l=1 ---> -1, 0, 1
ms- describes the spin , +1/2 = spin up and -1/2 = spin down

[Neha Jonnalagadda 2D]

These quantum numbers represent different aspects of a certain electron in an atom. N is the main quantum number that represents the electron shell number that the electron resides in. The l quantum number is the angular momentum quantum number and describes the shape of the specific orbital in the shell that the electron resides in. The magnetic spin quantum number has a magnitude of 1/2 and either a positive or negative sign because there are two electrons of opposite spin.

[Ethan Mai 1D]

n refers to the energy level, beginning at 1 and increasing by each energy level.
l refers to the orbital within the energy level, which starts at 0. 0 is the s-orbital, 1 is the p-orbital, 2 is the d-orbital, and 3 is the f-orbital.
m1 refers to the suborbital of the orbital. The median number of the m1 values for an electron is 0, and they range around 0 based on the orbital. For example, p ranges from -1 to 1, and d ranges from -2 to 2.
ms refers to the spin of the electron in the orbital. There are two possible values for ms for any electron. +1/2 refers to an up spin, and -1/2 refers to a down spin.