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The Practical benefits of understanding the Electron Configuration Table

There are many reasons why you may want to understand how atoms work. Perhaps you are working on a model of an atom or you need to understand the much broader field of quantum mechanics. Whatever the reason, you need to know how to read an electron configuration table if you are to understand how to place electrons around the nucleus. The electron configuration table is a type of code that has different energy levels each representing the different electrons that occupy these levels. In order to fit all this data into a small space, you need to further understand the numbers and letters that are used to represent these elements. Do not worry, by the time you are through, you will love the whole experience.

Just like any language, the electron configuration table is sort of like a sentence. The first number in the table represents the energy level. The lowercase letter represents the sub shell and the superscript number represents the number of electrons in a sub shell. The number of sub shells increases as the first number (the energy level) increases. Each sub shell however has a limit to the number of electrons it can hold. The first sub shell can only hold 2 electrons, the second can hold 6, the third 10 and the fourth 14. With this basic electron understanding, it is now possible to identify elements by their energy levels. An atom of gold for example, has six energy levels.

As you get to understand the electron configuration table, you will also understand the periodic table of elements since the concept of chemical bonding is the same. Chemical properties cannot be understood without knowledge of the electron configuration table. Thus, it would be impossible to know, for example, the number and type of chemical bonds that an atom can form. Another fundamental application of the electron table is in the understanding of emission spectrum which tries to explain the properties of light. For example, it can help to identify elements by their atomic emission spectrum when they are, say, ignited. This behavior of light is at the core of understanding quantum mechanics as well. In addition to that, the concept also helps to explain lasers and semi-conductors used to make your computer processor or other digital device that you use. Thus, a basic understanding of the electron configuration table can go a long way to helping you understand how the world around you works.

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