Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Rydberg atom
open-in-new
<p>A Rydberg atom is an <a href="/facts/Excited_state/czcLYNnr">excited atom</a> with one or more <a href="/facts/Electron/L0KBo5cW">electrons</a> that have a very high <a href="/facts/Principal_quantum_number/8SzSWV6w">principal quantum number</a>, <i>n</i>. The higher the value of <i>n</i>, the farther the electron is from the nucleus, <a href="/facts/Expectation_value_(quantum_mechanics)/szGNS7Dx">on average</a>. Rydberg <a href="/facts/Atom/FoQ4kGN5">atoms</a> have a number of peculiar properties including an exaggerated response to <a href="/facts/Electric_field/tt4MooBs">electric</a> and <a href="/facts/Magnetic_field/Ta8Ev588">magnetic fields</a>, long decay periods and <a href="/facts/Electron/L0KBo5cW">electron</a> <a href="/facts/Wavefunction/KgM5ykjY">wavefunctions</a> that approximate, under some conditions, <a href="/facts/Classical_physics/gGnINVPE">classical</a> orbits of electrons about the <a href="/facts/Atomic_nucleus/orpIm5Xl">nuclei</a>. The core electrons shield the <a href="/facts/Valence_electron/mXPA15VP">outer electron</a> from the electric field of the nucleus such that, from a distance, the <a href="/facts/Electric_potential/Nmqm6hm5">electric potential</a> looks identical to that experienced by the electron in a <a href="/facts/Hydrogen_atom/ncVpPbuE">hydrogen atom</a>. </p>