Atomic orbital by Hugh Griffiths

Atomic orbital

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Knitting
April 2008
DK (11 wpi) ?
US 2½ - 3.0 mm
English
Discontinued. This digital pattern is no longer available online.

Quantum mechanics tells us that electrons exist in atoms not as particles, but as clouds of probability density. The shape of this cloud depends on a number of parameters, and as the energy level increases it can become quite elaborate.

This pattern represents one such orbital, namely the 3dz2 orbital. This is made up of two disconnected pieces, a pair of cones meeting at a singular point, and a ring centred around the centre of these. These aren’t knit to scale, I have no ideas what the proportions should be. The two pieces are here left separate, so the ring can be pulled off the cones and played with.