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Hydrogen Orbitals 3D

This is the hydrogen atom solved exactly by quantum mechanics, shown as a 3D cloud. The electron has no definite position; the brightness at each point is the probability of finding it there, $|\psi|^2$. Three integers set the shape: $n$ (1 to 5) is the energy level and overall size, $\ell$ is how much angular structure the cloud has (0 is a sphere, 1 a dumbbell, 2 a cloverleaf), and $m$ tilts and twists that pattern around the axis. The sliders are clamped to the only allowed combinations, $\ell < n$ and $|m| \leq \ell$, so some settings refuse to move; that restriction is the physics, not a bug, and it is what builds the periodic table. Switch the view to read probability density (viridis), the wavefunction phase (hue wheel), or a lit isosurface that makes the lobes look solid; a colour key in the corner says which scale is active. Drag to orbit, scroll to zoom. The readout shows the energy $E_n = -13.6 \text{ eV} / n^2$ and the mean radius, which grows like $n^2$.

Figure 1. Hydrogen orbitals: the electron probability cloud ψnm2|\psi_{n\ell m}|^2 for quantum numbers (n,,m)(n, \ell, m). Brighter regions are where the electron is more likely to be found, and the colour key in the corner shows the active scale (density, phase, or sign). Method: exact hydrogenic wavefunctions (radial Laguerre times spherical harmonic) volume ray-marched on the GPU.

WHAT TO TRY

  • Vary each control and watch the rail readouts respond.
  • Compare the diagnostic plot against the live scene.