From owner-chemistry@ccl.net Thu Apr 21 17:35:00 2011 From: "Steve Williams willsd_._appstate.edu" To: CCL Subject: CCL: Hund rule Message-Id: <-44452-110421125108-30979-o6QdU0kPSCDdHYuddmRVVA]![server.ccl.net> X-Original-From: Steve Williams Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2011 12:43:19 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Sent to CCL by: Steve Williams [willsd__appstate.edu] Here is a crude rationalization: If electrons have parallel spins, they MUST occupy different spacial orbitals, else the Pauli principle would be violated. Different spacial orbital occupation suggests reduced likelyhood of these electrons being near each other, and so reduces the electron-electron repulsion. High spin multiplicity implies low repulsion between electrons. Of course more quantitative explanations involving exchange and Coulomb contributions electron repulsion energy are available as well. Most physical chemistry textbooks will a discussion of the 1s2s excited configuration of He where this should be discussed. Steve Williams On 04/21/2011 11:23 AM, bonoit bonoit bonoit_10%x%yahoo.fr wrote: > Sent to CCL by: "bonoit bonoit" [bonoit_10 : yahoo.fr] > Dear CCLers, > > I'm writting to enquire about the Hund rule: > "The term with the maximum multiplicity lies lowest in energy" > > My question is: > > What is the origin of this phenomenun? > > Sincerely, > Bonoit> >