ABSTRACT

Quantum mechanics began in very early twentieth century when Max Planck found the expression for black body thermal radiation in which the emitted light was not a continuum as postulated by classical physics. Erwin Schrodinger applied his equation to solve the quantum harmonic oscillator, the quantum rigid rotor, and a hydrogen-like atom. Pertaining to the solution of the Schrodinger equation to hydrogen atoms are the quantum numbers. C. K. Ingold’s overview of Schrodinger wave mechanics: “What can be known about an electron, considered as a particle, is of a statistical nature, and is summarized in the behavior of a wave. When considering singlet substances, the normal Zeeman Effect occurs, providing the discrete values of the orbital angular momentum. In an attempt to rationalize the anomalous Zeeman effect, W. Pauli proposed the fourth degree of freedom of the electron which he called “two-valuedness not describable classically”.