What Does an Electron Look Like?
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- čas přidán 27. 02. 2023
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I am a physicist and I'm always blown away by your examples. Too often a cool video title leads to nonsensical renders and analogies, but not yours. Keep up the awesome work!
Really? Prove you are a physicist. How many bananas do you need to create a blackhole?
Not to be crass but this demonstration is exactly what I would call a nonsensical analogy rendering incorrect predictions of actual experiments. It has a place in the history of quantum mechanics (proposed by deBroglie), not quantum mechanics itself. Edit: this is explained in the video of course, but for a lot of people the picture of that vibrating ring will already have latched on to their mind.
No, his titles and thumbnails, unless you watch his videos, almost seem boring, but they are always good, not like the titles that tell you Elon musk did something he didn't, or that space ships in orbit around earth are lurking and acting suspiciously.
@@rutger4131 stop being a crasshole, no analogy is perfect if you want to be pendantic about it.
@@digitalcitizen4533 I'm not being an asshole, ironically you are the one calling names. I'm pointing out that the thumbnail claim 'this is an electron' is really the wrong picture. I agree, no analogy is going to be perfect. But you can weigh the benefits and the drawbacks and I would say that with this analogy the drawbacks outweigh the benefits in a way that will inhibit future learning. I like Action Lab videos, that's why I'm here. A slightly different angle ('could this be an electron' or 'why this isn't an electron') could've worked out very well.
This is the best demonstration of electron orbitals I've ever seen. I've never heard them equated to standing waves before, and the demonstration so easy to understand. Thank you for this video!
If you'd like a deeper dive, the "electron in a box" exercise was what I saw in undergrad chem to make the connection.
@@AySz88 Cool, thank you!
Im wondering if the odd vs even modes could be extrapolated to say something new about the visible universe
They are not equated to standing waves, this is just a thing how to visualize them. Reality is much more complex.
@@steveunderhill5935
It does,
Unfortunately it dives into areas of quantum physics that are frankly beyond what chemistry is really capable of looking at.
There are both odd and even half-wavelengths depending on what exactly you're looking at, and I reccomend looking into the principles behind Electron Spin if you want to know more about exactly what all that's about.
This is great. You should do a whole series on topics that were taught to us in school in a let's say "inaccurate" way.
incomplete would be fairer
it's not that you get taught the wrong thing, it's just not really worth going deep on a subject with kids that are mostly just being taught how to learn stuff.
Been following this channel since when i didn't even know what an electron was. Today, I was able to tell every single thing before he even started explaining. The schooling is not at fault but the student might be. (Answering this based on indian education system)
Oversimplified to the point of being wrong. 100% would watch that.
I definitely remember all this stuff about waves in the orbital at school.
The right word would be "approximate". Approximations are not strictly wrong--the human mind constantly thinks in terms of approximations. It's what makes physics a uniquely human endeavor, in spite of all the math.
I’m just a regular dude that occasionally likes to learn about science stuffs, but this is hands down the best explanation by analogy of electron orbitals I’ve ever seen.
Apparently they don't obit but just vibrate and make a wave that doesn't move
Electrons have a negative charge but I wish everybody a positively charged day
Then how about positrons :)
I thought technically they had a positive charge because Ben Franklin had a 50/50 chance and was incorrect?
Isn't that dangerous?
Yes, stay well within your orbit and don't go nuclear on your loved ones
Thanks man hope my day gets better it's been going rough :)
Been watching this guy for over 3 years and love his content
My favorite is his onlyfans
@@wulfrache holdup
I learn so much so quickly from his videos.
been watching for 5 years and hate his content
@@bloodakoos Been watching 8 years and I spy on him from the bushes every night, waiting for my moment to pounce.
This is why I actually like when terminology changes as we gain insight instead of keeping old contradictory terms for the sake of comfort/familiarity.
wow, what perfect way to finally be able to visualize electrons. on another note now i can completely understand how atoms form molecular bonds cause it's literally all just interlocking waves
Finally a simple, pictorial explanation of why the energy levels are discrete.
So vibration has an effect on matter? (Scratches chin like a Tibetan monk)
@@badguacamole3709 Quantum shenanigans; just like tunneling, they are probability fields.
_that was my takeaway at least_
@@badguacamole3709 there's nothing else than vibrations / waves in the Universe - matter is just another mode of electromagnetic vibrations as shown by this experiment
I am not sure but this is exactly what I got in my textbook in physics lessons, I thought it is a common demonstration with de broglie wavelength
@@fireblossom8544 Oh really?!
Ignoring electrons for a moment, that t-shirt is absolutely outstanding!
I was going to comment, I'm wearing my Ducktales T-Shirt...must be 80s kids day today.
right on, but who wears TWO T-shirts at the same time?
ignore this comment 🙃
Ignoring the comment for a moment, that pfp is so cool!
Looks like a shirt 10yo kid wears🤓
I would love to see this with a flexible sphere. It would be cool to see the harmonics in 3 dimensions....
Use water
Technically you're seeing it in 3 dimensions, your brain just ignores the third dimension because the circle is too thin
@@Letsgoback2thefuture soap bubble on ground and a speaker.
@@user-zn4pw5nk2v
Dude no shit, that would be dope af ngl
My jaw dropped. All these years (over 50) and finally it was you that helped me understand in a way that is easy to comprehend what is going on with the electron orbital. Just wow and thanks!!!! More More MORE!! so good.
I have an idea to simulate the double-slit experiment for electrons.
Using tennis balls to simulate the electrons, is anyone interested in doing such a simulated electrons’ double-slit experiment?
The double-slit is made of tennis balls, and you will shoot tennis balls through such slits. A tennis ball hit through this slit will collide with balls on its borders. Consequently, the direction of balls coming out of these slits differs from theirs entering it.
You may also move the tennis balls on edges randomly and periodically to simulate the distribution of electrons around nuclei. I expect you will produce the so-called interference pattern. Of course, most balls that go straight through the middle of the slit are unharmed.
The double-slit experiment for water waves fundamentally differs from a similar experiment for electrons since an electron is too small to compare with a water wave. The edges of a double-slit made of atoms may be continuous and even smooth to a water wave for its long wavelength. However, to our electrons, the similar edge is not straight and sure not smooth due to their tiny size.
So, I guess that electrons passing a slit will interact with the electrons on the edges of a slit. Since the electron’s distribution is dynamic, these interactions differ from electrons and time, and their accumulated efforts eventually produce the so-called interference pattern.
Of course, photons’ double-slit experiment and their so-called interference pattern are the same.
@@user-vp1vl6yp9t and if we try to measure the tennis balls location and velocity is it passes through the tennis ball slit it always goes straight through without the interference pattern?
@@ewmegoolies It depends on the energy you use to measure the tennis ball's position and velocity. In other words, is the energy large enough to change the trajectory of the tennis ball because measuring the position and velocity of electrons and photons has an effect on those electrons and photons. A tennis ball is too heavy to feel the energy from a radar or laser speed gun, but electrons and photons can.
@@user-vp1vl6yp9t Do it.
@@lookupverazhou8599 yes, i will try to write a program for it. the edges of the slits are definitely an active part of the electrons' double-slits experiment, unlike in the case of water waves， where the edges aren't.
that's so cool with the ring standing waves, I've never seen that in all my years of taking physics (and later teaching it), I've done a linear version of that with that same vibrational tool but the ring really brings another level of cool to things.
That said, I always found it odd that electrons don't exist as "an electron" until we actually detect/interact with it, instead it is a probability wave of where it could be. The whole "this is what the orbitals look like... except you'll never see that, almost felt like someone trying to pull the wool over our eyes.
This a is core problem with both chemistry and physics, assumptions get taught as fact. In a way I get it, if you have a model and the assumptions work, at least you can still get results. There is a major flaw in the logic still, but it works. I just wish when it gets taught there is a disclaimer of 'we actually really have no idea but maybe it's this'.
if you think the ring is cool, look up steve mould and his chaldani patterns (i probably spelled everything wring there)
but its essentially standing waves but with plates of metal instead of rings, with grains of sand on top. the sand will naturally travel to the spots on the wave that are static and aren't vibrating, creating some sick patterns
@@kingcosworth2643 I mean whenever I've taught physics or astronomy when it comes to energy levels of electrons I do give a disclaimer that I'm using an "incorrect Bohr model" but tell them it's considerably easier to comprehend the ideas.
But I think the bigger problem is simply because the "reality" isn't something that really is observed, we're simply told "here's the math that says this is how reality works but we can't show you that it's working" is a hard concept to swallow. I remember taking quantum mechanics as an undergrad and in grad school and it largely felt like all I was doing was math problems with no real connection to reality.
Also don't recall any experiment told to us about experimentally recording the position of an electron multiple times to actually show those "electron clouds" other than computer simulations. Now I have seen experiments done with a 2 slit experiment where you can actually see the electron interferes with itself as it goes through either slit (both slits at the same time/wave nature), but other than that nothing of evidence was put forward. And IMO that is a big problem with any type of science, the whole "trust me, this math is right your perception of reality is not"
You do not localise the electron or the photon when you measure them. What you're localising is the interaction with measurement device.
When you use a thermometer or an infrared camera to measure the temperature of a macroscopic object, the effect of that interaction on the measured system's temperature is negligible when compared to the desired precision.
This is not the case when measuring quantum phenomena. We do not know how to make a measurement with negligible effects on the measured quantity.
The electromagnetic radiation has a wavelike cyclic behaviour, the interaction energy is what is quantised not the radiation itself. Hense the non local properties of certain interaction like a "single photon" interfering with"itself" or "two entangled particles" instantly reacting to "each other".
Non of the quoted expressions are meaningful.
What we refer to as "a single photon" is the minimum quantum of energy that produces the emission of electromagnetic radiation which behaves the same in a double split experiment as radiation with larger energy.
Think you might appreciate this guys channel. @HuygensOptics
What I really love about this is I have learned this over and over but just in the context of musical harmony. The concept of fundamental frequencies and their harmonics are the building blocks of music and sound.
Can't believe how well this was explained. As a physicist I'm always looking for better ways to explain quantum mechanics ( sometimes to students and sometimes to myself)!
These examples show how well you actually understand Q.M (to the extent one can actually understand it , if you know what I mean).
Ide love to see some more analogies.
Thanks for the vid
Thank you for making this, to see the ring vibrate and the analogy to the electron position, such a simple visual method, makes it easily understood
Thanks for sharing this visualization of the general idea of electron fields. I took AP chemistry in 98/99, and that's where my instructor told us about the "lies to children" we all learned about the orbiting electron. We had to learn about the various orbital states and their shapes but we had no clue why that was the shape. Seeing something like a harmonic frequency in a loop helps clarify a bit about what could be going on at the sub-atomic level! Brilliant!
another clue that people who believe and trust "the science" are cretins. scientific knowledge constantly changes. what we believe to be indisputable might be laughable to people in a hundred years
The thing I love most about this guy and his channel is just how much and how easy he makes it to learn about some very complicated and intricate scientific subjects. I think it's because he presents the information just like a good friend who is telling you something important and you need to listen. It's refreshing how the videos get the message across without a crazy amount of loud noises and effects that can be distracting. I really appreciate all the time and effort put into each of these fascinating videos! Bravo!
The world is even simpler. There are no quarters, electrones, atoms, molecules, chemical compounds, cells, algae, worms, amphibians, fauna, mammals. All these are standing waves and they change under the influence of the composer who creates live concert here and now
There are no cases, there are laws that create our illusion of the world.
Wonderful analogy. So visual, so intuitive! Thanks and congrats for your wonderful channel!
This channel has really matured. Super awesome explanation of a really complex concept. Love your work man.
I am in my last semester of Biochem in CSUF and one of the classes they have us take is called Physical Chemistry 2 and we are week 6 out of 16 and we have learned this EXACT video! It's so great actually knowing what this wonderful man is saying and knowing all the equations and models we use to figure this stuff out. A true marvel of explanations!
This also is me high as a kite but I truly was super happy knowing what this man was talking about. I always like chemistry but I am happy that I will do it for a good chunk of my life :)
You got a rare thumbs up and subscription! Nice one :D
This lesson actually just came up today in my chemistry class, thanks for letting me have a better understanding of it.
same, actually. I think he's trying to time videos with the school curriculum to get more views? or just a lucky coincidence
This is probably the best description of an atom I've ever heard. I feel like I understand them better now. Thank you for doing this.
3:10 slight correction, they do move smoothly between orbitals, but we are only allowed to observe it in a discrete state, not in a transition. Detecting an electron halfway through a transition has a 50% chance of being seen as the old state and 50% chance of being seen as the new state. One third the way through the transition is 33/67, etc. The transition is also very fast. Also, trying to measure an electron during the transition might result in the electron being disturbed.
Thanks for adding! I have a question, because electrons can only be excited by a specific amount of energy, if each orbital is a standing wave, when energy is released the electron drops down to the next stable harmonic frequency?
No, the jumps is as instantaneous as it can be... and it's impossible to measure an electron "during the transition", for Heisemberg among other reasons
Stop pls
It's not a jump. It is an emergent event. The electron exists not as a ball but as a cloud (of probability) around the nucleus. That cloud takes certain shapes based on harmonic oscillations at each "orbital” (better is envelopment). Just like what was shown on the ring, the shapes manifest as discrete forms at each discrete envelopment level. There is no continuous transition taking place whereupon one shape transitions (morphs) into another (at a different orbital).
@@raeStrong Yes, but the process is not instantaneous. As the electron releases energy in the form of a photon, it simultaneously moves to the lower state. The electron loses a specific amount of momentum to the photon. By E=pc, the massless form of E=mc^2, and conservation of energy, the loss of momentum is a loss of energy. Because the electron now has less energy, it is no longer stable in its current orbital. Think of orbitals as specific shapes, and electrons orbiting atoms behave more like waves. That shape is not stable for a lower energy wave, so the loss of momentum “swooshes” the wave into a different shape, which is a gradual process (very fast though).
@@TheChzoronzon The jumps are not instantaneous. The evolution of an electron through time is given by the Schrödinger equation, which is continuously différentiable for all finite potentials. As the electron behaves more like a wave when captured by an atom, its state necessarily changes gradually. The amount of time that the transition takes is inversely proportional to the energy lost/gained. In natural units, it is apparent that for the transition to last one Planck time, a change of one Planck energy is required. I’ll let you infer how much energy is required for a zero time transition.
What you may be confusing it with is the measurement of the electron state and the electron state itself. We can only measure an electron’s energy at discrete values because during a transition, its energy is not well-defined. It is only well-defined once it has settled into a stable state. In-between states are definitely possible, but they are unstable, which is why we cannot measure an electron as being in those states. Also recall that by interacting with the electron, which is required to measure something about it, you disturb its evolution through time; can you then see the slippery slope that implies that measurements are instantaneous?
Great stuff! Also illustrates probability functions!
As a chemical engineer now working in software development, this brings back good memories. Thanks. 🙂
oh my god. this was probably the most beautiful, instantly understandable examples in science education ever. you’ve made my day, wow well done! Such a practical way of showing something that’s downright mystical.
I love when people try to explain a concept or idea from a different perspective
it helps a lot to understand it better and deeper
This is quite possibly the best and simplest visual explanation I have seen for this topic.
Dude just explained quantisation, orbitals, and wave functions with a metal ring.
Mad respect.
Great explanation action lab! Your experiments are beautiful supplements to your explanation too.
Wow! How you explain a complicated topic in simple words with straightforward examples is commendable. I remember reading this in the first year of college but I never truly understood it and after many years I understood the concept in just 6 minutes video.
I love how my music tech degree gives me a huge stepping stone in understanding physics
Love your content and how easy you make it to understand. I do have a favor to ask, could you possibly do a video on cymatics? It's the study of physical effects of sound. I absolutely love cymatics and I feel like you could make a great video about it. I think lots of people would enjoy seeing how different sounds create different shapes. I did a project in high school on it and used an electric keyboard with an auxiliary audio output connected to a set of plate speakers and it was crazy cool. Didn't win the science fair, but I did get 3rd. It was cool seeing how the left and right channels were different when I used an mp3 instead of my electric keyboard. Watching the sand dance around into various shapes was something I'll never forget. People often forget how powerful sound really is.
No joke this explanation is amazing.
It should be noted that Louis de Broglie was the one who proposed the idea that an atom's energy levels are caused by standing waves.
You just explained eletron and orbital with real life visible analogy no other person or video has ever explained. Really appreciate you efforts.
seeing this really is electrifying
The video is 6 mins long and you commented 2 mins after posting? 💀👀
@@Monkey_Luffy01 built diff :OOO
@@Monkey_Luffy01 x2 speed and skipped the Ad. Makes sense...
I love this channel 'cause it has simple experiments for kids, as well as for adults.
Anything *interesting* goes...
2:00 In case anyone if wondering, the black object to the left of the generator is a loudspeaker coil.
As someone who's done a whole degree in physics, including 5 courses of quantum, this is a REALLY GOOD analogy that has an extremely deep correspondence with the actual quantum physics of electron orbitals. It's rare to see such a presentation that doesn't really require any math background, but addresses the topic in such a relevant way!
Best science teacher ever!
I had a chemisty test today this is exactly what came in the test lol
im in 11th-ncert
Indians learn engineering in highschool
@@WHITEDEVIL-zq5hi lol yeah
@@WHITEDEVIL-zq5hi False, it's not even close to the E of engineering
However still near the half E
And before you say anything else, I'm Indian myself
@@iacAon arre, just sayin like, we are taught too much than required....words pe nai emotions pe jao bhai
@@WHITEDEVIL-zq5hi Your words were more than enough misleading to cause deviation of one's thoughts from trying to understand you
Hmm, so my tinnitus is me hearing atomic standing waves in my head?
Thank you for giving a basic, comprehensible quantum mechanical description of electron. Please make more such contents. 😀
Now this is more the Action Lab I like.. :) Beautiful stuff. Thank you! (Even a worthy sponsor this time!)
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@@nikkiofthevalley dang. Controversy. That's crazy. Yawn. It's therapy.
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you rock, I love all of your simple explanations for any topic and always make science interesting! Thank you! Also, nice shirt LOL
This is the best practical analogy that I have seen. Thanks for all the amazing content.
Me: Where you gonna be next time I look?
Electron: Place your bets 😁
I’ve been through chemistry, physics, and organic chemistry and this blew my mind! Thank you!
😊
1:11 did you just assume my age?
my god such a clear way to understand orbitals, holy cow...
man you rock, such a genius way to explain complex stuff in a simple manner
That's exactly how I see it in my mind, a fuzzy sort of constant wave
I studied my degree in molecular biology and organic chemistry synthesis in post grad and have never had any of the professionals able to explain something seemingly complicated on such a simple and understandable way. And many have tried.
It's a true testament that teaching is a skill unto itself and that just because someone is an expert on something doesn't mean they're qualified to teach it.
Cheers for the video.
I love your videos, you explain things in a way people can understand. I have been subscribed to your channel for a couple of years now. I especially love your atom and electromagnetic videos. have always been fascinated by these two subjects.
This video is going into my quality videos playlist! Being able to visualize something smaller than visual light itself is so great!
5:17 - 5:35 finally helped me understand the orbital types and to stop seeing it like a planet orbiting a star . Thank you
You are so awesome to take the time and share your understanding. You are so appreciated.
This is the best Intiative picture of QM explained by you so Far .
I suppose if you painted a dot in a random part of the circle and made it vibrate you would still get a cloud, but if you took a picture with a very high shutter speed you would see the point in the circle being somewhere in the "cloud". I think that would make a great analogy for the collapse of the wave function
Nice explanation overall! I only have a high-school physics background on atom models, so this definitely added on to understand a little bit better what these various orbitals really mean.
This is the best explanation of electron discreet interval orbits I have ever seen.
This actually helped connect several thoughts in physics that I had difficulty understanding in class. Thanks for sharing.
Your channel has been continuosly improving the level of knowledge year by year. Keep up the good work.
You always have the most amazing analogies!
Excellent explanation that actually makes sense! Thanks for all of your educational videos.
OH MY GOSH!!! I wish I had seen this in both chemistry AND physics! This is such an incredible demonstration of both harmonic motion AND atomic orbitals!
Standing waves around the nucleus.. Wow!! Brilliantly demonstrated.
This video helped me make sense of the property of electrons explained to me by the college chemistry teacher over 10 years ago. Nice to finally have an intuitive understanding.
super well explained, as usual, thanks!
Man, you are really having fun with that vibration generator. Keep it up! haha
It is important to appreciate that there is something physical vibrating (that is the particle that contains mass). The mode of vibration or oscillation is simply the trajectory of the particle. It is the trajectory that describes the standing wave. So, to be clear: the particle is not the wave, but it is traveling in a trajectory that is wave shaped. If we measure the position of the electron the wave disappears because we have intercepted the motion of the particle.
This example gave me a better understanding of electron and wave equations, thanks a lot.
Basically an investigator can decifer exactly how many steps, breathes, and heart beats you took during a murder if there's video
This is so informative. I studied that Electron also has a Wave Nature but never saw it practically. Thank You
I finally have a clearer understanding as to why electron shells can only exist at specific energy levels thanks to this! Thank you!
That's also the principle behind generation of lasers. You excite the electrons to move to a higher energy orbit, and when they fall back to the stable orbit, they release their absorbed energy as light, which is specific to the atom involved. This is how you get different color lasers.
yeah I think it's phase change. It explains why every type of phase change goes against thermodynamics.
This video is PURE GOLD in physics dissemination videos.
Fantastic demonstration, sensible and practical
Fantastic demo! I've seen mode changes with sand particles on a vibrating drum but this one was unique and even more illustrative of point particle physics.
What an awesome demonstration. Well done!!
What a great analogy. Having done mechanical engineering I get how structures have resonant frequencies and I can see how the ring has resonances at certain frequencies. But to use this as an analog for electrons is just clever.
💀 *"YOU'RE MORE THAN PICOSECONDS OLD"* 😹and I died laughing
BTW the thing he said about never finding the exact position of electrons are due to Hisenburg Uncertainty principal
∆X · ∆P = h/4π where ∆X is avg position, ∆P is avg momentum and h is reduced plank constant
I have NEVER seen such an elegant description of orbitals! All in a 6:30 second video. Just WOW!
This explanation is just amazing ,
Loved it ❤️
feels like this needs a part 2
love the visual. really helps people understand electrons and particles are fundemently and mathmatically run by frequencies. I remember learning electricale math and that idea was fundemental to accepting the math.
This reminded me of the 3d model PBS space time used to depict an electrons spin
Simply amazing
This one blew my mind. Thanks for the amazing analogy.
Drop particles onto the ring, they will bounce differently off the nodes, giving you an enhanced visual..
Great! I recommend recording this with strobe effect to see the mode shapes better! (Either actual strobe or via post processing)
This was really informative, helped me understand those electron cloud diagrams
I didn't expect a quantum physics lesson to make this much sense, but here we are
Wonderful visualization! Thanks!
perhaps the best video and explanation I have ever seen on the topic
This blew my mind! Probably the best visualization of quantisation!
can we respect that this guy can manage to make such an informative and serious video, whilst wearing a Mario Kart t-shirt
I thought I was going to hate this because its on something assumed and never actually seen before, the 'electron'. But I think you did a great job with getting closer to what it really is, a standing wave
That's truly an amazing explanation! Thanks for this! 🥰
Dude never runs out of ideas 🤣