Elektronitilaan

Elektronitilaan is the illative form of the Finnish noun elektronitila, which translates to the electronic state or electronic configuration of a system. In Finnish scientific prose, elektronitilaan is used to express movement toward or transition into a particular electronic state, as in the phrase siirtyä elektronitilaan ("to transition into an electronic state"). The base noun elektronitila denotes the quantum state occupied by electrons.

In physics and chemistry, the electronic state (elektronitila) of an atom, molecule, or solid describes how electrons occupy orbitals, including the ground state and excited states. An electronic state is characterized by electron configuration, energy, spin, symmetry, and sometimes term symbols that summarize angular momentum and spin coupling. Distinct elektronitilat can differ in energy and in the distribution of electron density, and transitions between states correspond to absorption or emission of photons.

Practically, researchers determine and predict elektronitilat using experimental spectroscopy and computational methods. Experimental techniques include UV–visible spectroscopy, photoelectron spectroscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy. Computational approaches—such as Hartree–Fock, density functional theory (DFT), time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT), and multireference configuration interaction—aim to describe and compare electronic states and the transitions between them.

See also: electronic state, electron configuration, term symbol, spectroscopy, quantum chemistry.