A look at electron orbitals

Péter R. Śurján

Kerson Huang

The detailed motion of a free Dirac electron is investigated by examining the expectation values of the position r and of r×ṙ in a wave packet. It is shown that the well-known zitterbewegung may be looked upon as a circular motion about the direction of the electron spin, with a radius equal to the Compton wavelength (divided by 2π) of the electron. It is further shown that the intrinsic spin of the electron may be looked upon as the “orbital angular momentum” of this motion. The current produced by the zitterbewegung is seen to give rise to the intrinsic magnetic moment of the electron.

Daehyeon Kang

We attempts to show what electron motion looks like in the S orbital of hydrogen atoms. by Classical quantum theory S-orbital is the case without angular momentum, which is natural in Schrodinger's equation but difficult to explain in classical quantum theory. Classical quantum theory is still valid even now, when quantum mechanics flourished.

Christopher Smeenk

A newly-developed "quantum microscope" uses photoionization and an electrostatic magnifying lens to directly observe the electron orbitals of an excited hydrogen atom.