Prof. Marcia Grail is performing a complex quantum mechanical calculation attemp

Question

Prof. Marcia Grail is performing a complex quantum mechanical calculation attempting to ascertain an atomic transition she can exploit for a new death ray. Specifically, she calculates that the ideal emission photon she desires can be obtained in the transition from the 6s2 state of Calcium to the 2d11 state, having been awake for nearly 72 hours straight of plotting. Her robotic assistant, Codex, helpfully points out that she has made a mistake, thus earning a new dent in her chassis and several new swear words for her dictionary file. What are at least two problems with the transition she chose?

Explanation / Answer

The teo problems in the newly founded transition 6s2 to 2d11 are:

1) As d- orbital can have a maximum of 10 electrons, hence d11 state for any n is not possible quantum mechanically.

2) The transition involves delta l = 2, as electron should come from 6s (l = 0 state) to 2d (l = 2 state), but for the transition to be quantum mechanically viable, delta l cannot be +-2.

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