What is "Zeff" and what is it's role in atomic radius?

[Jaipal Virdi 2I]

Hey! I had saw this term used when talking about atomic radius but I was confused to what it exactly meant. If anyone could provide some clarity about how it is determined, that would be greatly appreciated!

[Rebekah Han 2K]

I believe Zeff is the effective nuclear charge. The inner electrons shield the outer electrons from the electrostatic attraction of the positive nucleus, and therefore, the outer electrons feel a reduced electrostatic attraction which results in an effective nuclear charge. So for an atom with a larger radius, the valence electrons won't get affected by the positive charge of the nucleus as much as the inner electrons would. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong!

[Katelyn Alvarado 3K]

Zsubscript(eff) is the effective nuclear charge. Thus, it has an inverse relationship with atomic radius: when Zeff is higher, atomic radius is smaller, when Zeff is lower, atomic radius is bigger.

[905715668]

Zeff is the effective nuclear charge. It is calculated using the formula Zeff=Z-S (where S is a shielding constant).

[Grant_2A]

I am a little unsure as well but Zeff is the nuclear charge and it is related to how electrons shield from the nucleus.

[Noa Popko 3I]

Zeff is effective nuclear charge. We can use the formula Zeff = Z - S where Z is the atomic number and S is the shielding constant to calculate the effective nuclear charge. Generally, effective nuclear charge increases across a row as the number of protons in the center of the atom increases and pulls more on the outer electrons. For atomic radius, that also increases across a row as more protons pull the electrons in closer.

[Nathan Tran 1B]

Like the other replies said, Zeff is the effective nuclear charge. Essentially this term is used in regards to the actual force of attraction electrons experience towards the nucleus taking into account forces like electron-electron repulsion and shielding. This differs from the nuclear charge because this only refers to the positive force that the nucleus has and not what the electrons actually experience.