1s atomic orbital

For any atom there is just one 1s orbital. Consider the shape on the top of the image. The surface of the shape represents points for which the electron density for that orbital is the same - an isosurface. The image shows clearly the spherical shape of the 1s function.

The orbital on the left is sliced in half and shows that there is no spherical node in the 1s orbital. Examine the electron density plots to see how the electron density increases exponentially towards the nucleus.

The shape of the 1s orbital.

the 1s orbital

While still spherical, the higher s-orbitals ( 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, 6s, and 7s) are more complex since they have spherical nodes. THe shape on the right shows the nodal structure of the s-orbitals. However there are none for the 1s orbital.


The OrbitronTM, a gallery of orbitals on the WWW: https://winter.group.shef.ac.uk/orbitron/
Copyright 2002-2023 Prof Mark J. Winter [Department of Chemistry, The University of Sheffield]. All rights reserved.