Understanding what the Schrödinger equation tells us about the structure of the atom is no simple task.

At the simplest level (ours), the equation tells us:

  • the electron's position can only be expressed in terms of probabilities.
  • the energy levels proposed by Bohr exist but are less well defined
  • more than one probability distribution ("orbital") may exist for an energy level
  • different orbitals may coexist on the same energy level
  • orbitals "look" pretty weird