6p wave function and nodal structures

Movie representing the ψ_6p - the 6p wave function. Yellow represents positive values for the wave function and white represents negative values. One of the aims of the movie is to illustrate the nodal structure.

The graph on the left is a surface plot of ψ_6p on a slice drawn through the nucleus while the plot on the right shows values along a single line drawn through the nucleus. In this case the plot shows a 6p_x orbital. The points on the line plot or the surface plot where the colour changes from one to the other represent the points at which the orbital nodal sphere crosses the line or surface. See the 6p electron density page for information about its electron density (the square of the wave function).

Each 6p orbital has a planar node normal to the axis of the orbital (so the 6p_x orbital has a yz nodal plane, for instance) and four spherical nodal surfaces. The higher p-orbitals ( 7p) are more complex since they have more spherical nodes while the lower p-orbitals ( 2p, 3p, 4p, and 5p) have fewer.