Re: Magnetons

[Tim Sullivan x5830 <sullivan@KENYON.EDU>]

> Probably more relevant to the topic at hand, an electron in an s-state
> (angular momentum L = 0 h-bar) is in some sense at rest in a way in which an
> electron in a p-state (angular momentum = 1 h-bar) is not.  I would be glad
> to amplify on this, but I don't know how ... :) except maybe to say that
> zero angular momentum "must" mean no orbital motion, which would seem to be
> the only motion possible for a bound electron, therefore zero angular
> momentum must mean no motion ...  But maybe I should stop talking now.


The classical analog to the s orbitals are "pendular" orbits, i.e., ones that
go back and forth right through the force center. We don't think of these much
classically because collision is the obvious result on the macroscale. But this
analogy makes sense of the fact that s orbitals have non-zero probability
density at the origin, unlike any orbitals with non-zero angular momentum.

Tim
sullivan@kenyon.edu