← all shorts

Concept

Schrödinger equation

A circular pattern with concentric rings and a central sphere, set against a gradient background, symbolizes the Schrödinger equation conceptually.

The 1926 wave equation, written by Erwin Schrödinger, that describes how the quantum state of a system evolves over time. For an electron in an atom, its solutions are orbitals — three-dimensional probability clouds rather than little planetary paths. Modern chemistry is essentially the practice of approximating this equation for molecules too complicated to solve exactly, which is almost all of them.

Mentioned in 1 article