Superposed ‘Quantum Orbits’ Viewed Through Systemic Functional Linguistics

Penrose (2004: 572, 573):

For example, a hydrogen atom consists of an electron in orbit around its proton nucleus … . But the rules of quantum mechanics tell us that the quantum-mechanical orbit will not involve just a single classical trajectory about the nucleus, but is basically a quantum superposition of many such. These superposed ‘quantum orbits’ will be stationary solutions of the Schrödinger equation, with a Hamiltonian that is basically the same as in the classical case, but ‘canonically quantised’ … . 

… Such ‘quantised orbits’ are sometimes referred to as orbitals;

Blogger Comments:

From the perspective of Systemic Functional Linguistic Theory, the superposition of electron orbits around a nucleus models the phenomenon as potential, not actual. An actual electron is an instance of this potential.