Electron configuration

In atomic physics and quantum chemistry, the electron configuration is the distribution of electrons of an atom or molecule (or other physical structure) in atomic or molecular orbitals.^[1] For example, the electron configuration of the neon atom is 1s² 2s² 2p⁶, meaning that the 1s, 2s, and 2p subshells are occupied by two, two, and six electrons, respectively.

Electronic configurations describe each electron as moving independently in an orbital, in an average field created by the nuclei and all the other electrons. Mathematically, configurations are described by Slater determinants or configuration state functions.

According to the laws of quantum mechanics, a level of energy is associated with each electron configuration. In certain conditions, electrons are able to move from one configuration to another by the emission or absorption of a quantum of energy, in the form of a photon.

Knowledge of the electron configuration of different atoms is useful in understanding the structure of the periodic table of elements, for describing the chemical bonds that hold atoms together, and in understanding the chemical formulas of compounds and the geometries of molecules. In bulk materials, this same idea helps explain the peculiar properties of lasers and semiconductors.