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Chemistry · Glossary

What is Radial and angular parts?

Also known as: radial part · angular part

Definition 13.2 University Chemistry — Year 2 · Chapter 13 — Atomic Orbitals: Shapes, Energies and Sizes

In spherical coordinates (r,θ,φ)(r, \theta, \varphi) about the nucleus, the orbitals of a hydrogen-like atom factorise as ψnlm(r,θ,φ)=Rnl(r) Ylm(θ,φ)\psi_{nlm}(r, \theta, \varphi) = R_{nl}(r)\, Y_{lm}(\theta, \varphi): the radial part RnlR_{nl} depends on nn and ll, the angular part YlmY_{lm} on ll and mlm_l only.

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