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According to quantum mechanics, an electron in an atom or molecule has two curious properties:

1. An electron's position in space is random, but described by a probability density function . (As an object in space, is a scalar-valued function of three variables, usually given as spherical coordinates.) In a molecule, is very difficult to describe, but in a single atom, it depends upon three so-called quantum numbers: , , and . (These numbers appear in equations describing the behavior of the electron.)

2. An electron can only have certain discrete amounts of energy. The particular amount of energy that it has is determined by the probability density function in which it is bound.

The combination of an energy level and a probability density function is called an orbital. The name is intentionally similar to ' orbit'. An orbital determines the energy and possible locations of an electron in much the same way that an orbit determines the energy and possible locations of a celestial body, though the specific mathematical relationships are quite different.

Related topics

• Atomic orbital
• Molecular orbital

• Periodic tableThe periodic table of the chemical elements is a tabular display of the known chemical elements. The elements are arranged by electron structure so that many chemical properties vary regularly across the table. Each element is listed by its atomic number
  • Periodic table groupA periodic table group is a vertical column in the periodic table of the chemical elements. There are 18 groups in the standard periodic table. It is no accident that several of these correspond directly to chemical series: the periodic table was original
  • Periodic table periodIn the periodic table of the elements, a period is a row of the table. The number of electron shells an atom has determines what period it belongs to. Each shell is divided into different subshells, which as atomic number increases are filled in roughly t
  • Chemical seriesA chemical series is a group of chemical elements whose physical and chemical characteristics vary progressively from one end of the series to another. Chemical series were discovered before the creation of the periodic table of the chemical elements, whi
  • Periodic table blockA block of the periodic table of elements is a set of adjacent groups. The respective highest-energy electrons in each element in a block belong to the same atomic orbital type. Each block is named after its characteristic orbital; thus, the blocks are: s

• Isotope table (complete)This table shows all of the known isotopes of the chemical elements, arranged with increasing atomic numbers from left to right and increasing neutron number from top to bottom. Half lives are indicated by the color of each isotope's cell, with isotopes h
  • Isotope table (divided)These tables show all of the known isotopes of the chemical elements, arranged with increasing atomic number from left to right and increasing neutron number from top to bottom. Half lives are indicated by the color of each isotope's cell, with isotopes h

• Atomic electron configuration tableThis is a table of electron configurations of atoms . Element 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 Hydrogen1 2 Helium2 3 Lithium21 4 Beryllium22 5 Boron23 6 Carbon24 7 Nitrogen25 8 Oxygen26 9 Fluorine27 10 Neon28 11 Sodium281 12 Magnesium282 13 Aluminium283 14 Silicon284 15 P

• Discovery of the chemical elements
• Elements song
• IUPAC's systematic element names.