Pauli Exclusion Principle
- A single orbital can contain a maximum of two electrons if they have different spins (down or up)
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Occupancy: Pauli Exclusion Principle
First, we will address occupancy.
- Write that according to the Pauli exclusion principle, a single orbital can contain a maximum of two electrons if they have different spins.
- Show that an electron's spin can be pictured as:
- "up," or "down"
Let's show an orbital diagram for helium, which has a ground state electron configuration [1s^2] with both electrons in the 1s orbital.
- Depict the 1s orbital as a horizontal line. This shows it has a discrete energy level.
- Signify the first electron's "up" spin.
- And the second's "down" spin.