Quote:
Originally Posted by modest
Nope. The transition energy between copper’s 3d and 4s orbital is small without the relativistic effects described in the links above. Copper’s nucleus (atomic number 29) is not electro-positive enough to significantly, relativistically contract the 4s orbital.
I realize you asked this question before at Hypo in the technology news forum regarding this webpage and you got a different answer. But, looking at that page closely (it’s in question / answer format), it appears to me only to attribute relativistic effects to gold and not copper, saying “The 3d, filled in copper, is less shielded by the s and p subshells... Now when you get to gold (5d) relativistic effects become important.”
The relativistic effects section of wiki's article on atomic orbital might be illuminating.~modest |
So I guess my next question is why copper is pinkish in color and not silver or grey like almost all other metals.
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Michael
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