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| | The Net Equation: Your Online Source for Chemistry Solutions |
 | | n is called the principle quantum number; it describes how far away from the nucleus the electron shell under consideration is. The larger the value of n, the farther away the shell is; since shells are concentric, farther shells are also larger. |
 | | l is the angular momentum quantum number, and it describes the shape of the subshell (each electron shell except n=1 is composed of several subshells). |
 | | Before the quantum number system was instituted, subshells were referred to with letters: 0 was s, 1 was p, 2 was d, 3 was f, 4 was g, and so on. |
| library.thinkquest.org /C004970/atoms/orbital.htm (1458 words) |
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