We have seen earlier that electrons move around the positively charged nucleus in various orbits. Shapes of the electron orbit depend on the l number. The dumb bells can be oriented in space in three different directions. In principle, n is called the principle quantum number and l is called the orbital quantum number . In addition to orbital quantum number, electron has an intrinsic spin assigned to it.
Electrons like to pair up.
So if there is a single electron orbiting with spin up, it will try to seek another electron which has spin down. Table below gives some idea of the quantum number assigned to various orbits. The orbital, s, p, d, etc are also known as sub-shells. The six electrons of carbon are distributed as From this picture, we should feel that carbon is a divalent compound and should borrow two electrons in its p x and p y orbital. Carbon does not form compounds like CH 2 .