Atomic orbitals 7s electron density

Animated plot of the 7s electron density function (ψ_7s)². The blue zones are where the wave function has positive values and the white zones denote negative values.

The graph on the right is a plot of values along a single line drawn through the nucleus while the surface plot on the left shows values of ψ_7s² on a plane including the nucleus.

The "surface" of the three-dimensional orbital at the centre of each animation represents points for which the electron density for that orbital is the same - an isosurface. By choosing different values of electron density, denoted by the bar moving up and down on the line plot or by the moving plane on the surface plot, then the size of the three-dimensional plot changes. The three-dimensional orbital shape at the top on the left is sliced in half to show that there are spherical nodes in the 7s orbital. See the 7s wave function page for information about its wave function and node structure.

All values of electron density are of necessity not negative since the square of any real number cannot be less than zero.