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What is a term symbol
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A term symbol is a shorthand notation used to describe the electronic state of an atom or molecule. It provides information about the total angular momentum, spin multiplicity, and parity of the electronic state. The general form of a term symbol is ²S+L, where:
2S+1 represents the spin multiplicity, which is the number of possible spin orientations. For example, a doublet (2S+1 = 2) indicates that there are two possible spin orientations.
L represents the total orbital angular momentum, which is the sum of the individual orbital angular momenta of the electrons. The values of L are denoted by letters: S (L=0), P (L=1), D (L=2), F (L=3), etc.
J represents the total angular momentum, which is the vector sum of the orbital and spin angular momenta. J can take on values from |L - S| to |L + S| in steps of 1.
For example, the term symbol ³P₂ indicates that the electronic state has a spin multiplicity of 3, an orbital angular momentum of 1 (P state), and a total angular momentum of 2.
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