Wave: definition in chemistry
Wave: A repeating disturbance that carries energy from one place to another, described by its wavelength, frequency and amplitude.
Light, radio signals and X-rays are electromagnetic waves, which differ only in their wavelength and frequency. In the 1920s scientists found that electrons also behave like waves, a property called wave–particle duality. Treating the electrons in atoms as standing waves led to the quantum mechanical model and to orbitals. Because X-rays have wavelengths similar to the spacing of atoms, they are diffracted by crystals and are used to work out the structures of solids and molecules.
Examples
- Visible light — wavelengths from about 400 to 700 nm
- Microwaves in a kitchen oven — wavelength of about 12 cm
- X-rays — wavelengths near 0.1 nm, similar to the spacing of atoms
- Electron microscopes use the wave nature of electrons to image tiny objects
On the periodic table
The shapes of the s, p, d and f orbitals, which give the table its blocks, come from describing electrons as standing waves around the nucleus.