Atoms can be aligned in magnets to create magnetic fields. Does that alignment give an atom a north and south pole or certain atoms have a unique electron orbitals giving an atom a north and south pole? Do electrons orbit in their orbitals in a particular direction in those types of atoms when aligned? This answer gives a good example on electron orbitals around/near an atom and would these orbitals change with alignment?
[Physics] Which direction do electrons orbit around/near the nucleus differ in aligned magnetic atoms
atomic-physicselectronsmagnetic fieldsspherical harmonics
Best Answer
Please remember that orbitals are the region's where electrons are most likely to be found, but the electron does not have a path, just a chance, a very high chance, of being found in the region.
Say one second, we measure where the electron is, and we find it in a region. Then two minutes later we look again, and we find it somewhere else, but where it goes between the times we look, we don't know.
The electron has to follow certain rules when it is part of an atom and these are:
I include a picture, which hopefully illustrates this.
Image Source: Electron Spin
In each orbital, only two electrons can fit in the orbital, one up and one down.
The atom has discrete energy levels around it, so the electron has to fit into a definite energy level, like a car that can only go at 20 and 40 mph, it cannot travel at 30 mph. That's very odd, but that the way quantum physics works.
The electrons all have a negative charge, so they want to stay as far apart from each other as possible, but the positive charge of the nucleus keeps them from drifting away.
Nearest the nucleus, there is a spherical shaped orbital and two electrons, an up and a down, can fit in. This is the ground state, with the lowest energy level.
At the next energy level, we can fit in 4 electrons, but they have to stay as far as apart as possible, so if you look at the diagram below, you understand why the orbitals are the funny shapes they are.