There are a set of angular momentum quantum numbers associated with the energy states of the atom. In terms of classical physics, angular momentum is a property of a body that is in orbit or is rotating about its own axis. It depends on the angular velocity and distribution of mass around the axis of revolution or rotation and is a vector quantity with the direction of the angular momentum along the rotation axis. In contrast to classical physics, where an electron’s orbit can assume a continuous set of values, the quantum mechanical angular momentum is quantized. Furthermore, it cannot be specified exactly along all three axes simultaneously. Usually, the angular momentum is specified along an axis known as the quantization axis, and the magnitude of the angular momentum is limited to the quantum values Square root of√l(l + 1) (ℏ), in which l is an integer. The number l, called the orbital quantum number, must be less than the principal quantum number n, which corresponds to a “shell” of electrons. Thus, l divides each shell into n subshells consisting of all electrons of the same principal and orbital quantum numbers.

There is a magnetic quantum number also associated with the angular momentum of the quantum state. For a given orbital momentum quantum number l, there are 2l + 1 integral magnetic quantum numbers m_l ranging from −l to l, which restrict the fraction of the total angular momentum along the quantization axis so that they are limited to the values m_lℏ. This phenomenon is known as space quantization and was first demonstrated by two German physicists, Otto Stern and Walther Gerlach.

Elementary particles such as the electron and the proton also have a constant, intrinsic angular momentum in addition to the orbital angular momentum. The electron behaves like a spinning top, with its own intrinsic angular momentum of magnitude s = Square root of√(1/2)(1/2 + 1) (ℏ), with permissible values along the quantization axis of m_sh = ±(1/2)ℏ. There is no classical-physics analogue for this so-called spin-angular momentum: the intrinsic angular momentum of an electron does not require a finite (nonzero) radius, whereas classical physics demands that a particle with a nonzero angular momentum must have a nonzero radius. Electron-collision studies with high-energy accelerators show that the electron acts like a point particle down to a size of 10⁻¹⁵ centimetre, one hundredth of the radius of a proton.

The four quantum numbers n, l, m_l, and m_s specify the state of a single electron in an atom completely and uniquely; each set of numbers designates a specific wave function (i.e., quantum state) of the hydrogen atom. Quantum mechanics specifies how the total angular momentum is constructed from the component angular momenta. The component angular momenta add as vectors to give the total angular momentum of the atom. Another quantum number, j, representing a combination of the orbital angular momentum quantum number l, and the spin angular momentum quantum number s can have only discrete values within an atom: j can take on positive values only between l + s and |l − s| in integer steps. Because s is 1/2 for the single electron, j is 1/2 for l = 0 states, j = 1/2 or 3/2 for l = 1 states, j = 3/2 or 5/2 for l = 2 states, and so on. The magnitude of the total angular momentum of the atom can be expressed in the same form as for the orbital and spin momenta: Square root of√j( j + 1) (ℏ) gives the magnitude of the total angular momentum; the component of angular momentum along the quantization axis is m_jℏ, where m_j can have any value between +j and −j in integer steps. An alternative description of the quantum state can be given in terms of the quantum numbers n, l, j, and m_j.

The electron distribution of the atom is described as the square of the absolute value of the wave function. The probability of finding an electron at a given point in space for several of the lower energy states of the hydrogen atom is shown in Figure 5 . It is important to note that the electron density plots should not be thought of as the time-averaged locations of a well-localized (point) particle orbiting about the nucleus. Rather, quantum mechanics describes the electron with a continuous wave function in which the location of the electron should be considered as spread out in space in a quantum “fuzz ball.” (See Figure 5.)

Fine and hyperfine structure of spectra

Although the gross energies of the electron in hydrogen are fixed by the mutual electrostatic attraction of the electron and the nucleus, there are significant magnetic effects on the energies. An electron has an intrinsic magnetic dipole moment and behaves like a tiny bar magnet aligned along its spin axis. Also, because of its orbital motion within the atom, the electron creates a magnetic field in its vicinity. The interaction of the electron’s magnetic moment with the magnetic field created by its motion (the spin-orbit interaction) modifies its energy and is proportional to the combination of the orbital angular momentum and the spin angular momentum. Small differences in energies of levels arising from the spin-orbit interaction sometimes cause complexities in spectral lines that are known as the fine structure. Typically, the fine structure is on the order of one-millionth of the energy difference between the energy levels given by the principal quantum numbers.

The hyperfine structure is the result of two effects: (1) the magnetic interactions between the total (orbital plus spin) magnetic moment of the electron and the magnetic moment of the nucleus and (2) the electrostatic interaction between the electric quadrupole moment of the nucleus and the electron (see below Origins).