Electron 'Clouds' Through Systemic Functional Linguistics [2]

Gribbin (1988: 115-6):

The [electron] standing waves are described by Schrödinger's equation.  This defines the shape and extent of the electron clouds, and they are different for different energy levels and different orbitals.  But instead of thinking of the electrons in different shells as neatly outside each other, like a series of onion rings, we have to visualise them all interpenetrating, like lots of ripples on a pool.  Every individual electron cloud extends down to 'touch' the nucleus, and all electrons come under the direct influence of the nucleus, but some more strongly than others.  There are many ways to picture what is going on.  The electrons that used to be thought of as further out from the nucleus do indeed 'spend more time' further out — their orbital clouds are concentrated further from the nucleus.  But the most important thing is that they are less strongly attached to the nucleus.

Blogger Comments:

From the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistic theory, the standing waves described by Schrödinger's equations construe experience as quantum potential, quantified in terms of probability.  The shape and extent of electron clouds, therefore, construe the potential locations of electrons.  The interpenetrations of electron clouds are, therefore, overlaps of the location potentials of different quantum systems.