The atomic orbital structures shown on the periodic table below are not the only configurations that many of these atoms can achieve. They are the ones that demonstrate the basic or most important electron configurations.
Interactive:
CLICK on an element below to view detail — Hydrogen (1H) through Lutetium (71Lu) only.
(Objects built using 3DCalcPlot and can be rotated and zoomed on the interactive links.)
Click on an element above to view detail — Hydrogen (1H) through Lutetium (71Lu)
Alternate Element Links: (in case the links on the image above are not optimized for all platforms or browsers)
Row=1: 1H 2He
Row=2: 3Li 4Be 5B 6C 7N 8O 9F 10Ne
Row=3: 11Na 12Mg 13Al 14Si 15P 16S 17Cl 18Ar
Row=4: 19K 20Ca 21Sc 22Ti 23V 24Cr 25Mn 26Fe 27Co 28Ni 29Cu 30Zn 31Ga 32Ge 33As 34Se 35Br 36Kr
Row=5: 37Rb 38Sr 39Y 40Zr 41Nb 42Mo 43Tc 44Ru 45Rh 46Pd 47Ag 48Cd 49In 50Sn 51Sb 52Te 53I 54Xe
Row=6: 55Cs 56Ba 57La 58Ce 59Pr 60Nd 61Pm 62Sm 63Eu 64Gd 65Tb 66Dy 67Ho 68Er 69Tm 70Yb 71Lu
The Quantum TORCH:
A few of the structures in select elements represent a new conjecture that follows the Quantum TORCH view of electron and di-electron interactions.
The Quantum Theory of Orbital Resonance, Coherence and Harmonics suggests that the behavior of electrons, when in close proximity, must play a central role in determining electron interactions, and consequently, both atomic and molecular geometry. These quantum interactions include spin sharing, spin exclusion, and orbital hybridizations, and they strive for lowest energy and highest symmetry.
The Quantum TORCH seeks to account for the strength of the dioxygen (O2) molecule’s paramagnetism, as well as the trends in magnetic strength (susceptibility) of the d-block (transition) metals and f-block (rare earth) metals. It seeks to explain the mechanism leading to paramagnetism versus that leading to ferromagnetism, based upon the quantum electron interactions occurring within atomic orbitals.