A Combination of Various Visualization Methods of Atomic Orbitals and Representations of Their Wave Character

Abstract

This paper reports various kinds of visualization (isosurfaces, pseudo-three-dimensional representations, contour map, and cross sections) on the atomic orbitals of a hydrogen atom using multimedia techniques (animation and still image), and relation to visualization of the wave character by the oscillating circular membrane. These visualizations are very important, because they are suitable methods to understand the character of the atomic orbital wavefunctions. Interactive visualization methods on the wave character of the atomic orbitals of a hydrogen atom were investigated using large capacity and random accessible recording media, i.e., CD-R (Compact Disk Recordable). The wave character of atomic orbitals, such as a node or a nodal surface, was represented by using their classical oscillator in contrast to the atomic orbitals of a hydrogen atom through the interactive operations on a computer.