Illustrated Glossary of Organic Chemistry
Atomic
orbital
:
An
orbital
that is
localized
on a single atom. The term is usually used only when discussing free (
unbonded
) atoms, because
orbitals
in
molecules
are almost always
delocalized
(even if only slightly) over more than one atom.
The
p
x
,
p
y
, and
p
z
atomic
orbitals
of carbon.
Related terms:
Molecular orbital
,
s
orbital
,
hybrid orbital
,
sp
3
orbital
,
sp
2
orbital
,
sp
orbital
Wikipedia entry
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