subshell
Americannoun
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One or more orbitals in the electron shell of an atom with the same energy level. Subshells have different shapes and are distinguished by their magnetic quantum number.
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See more at orbital quantum number
Etymology
Origin of subshell
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Example Sentences
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In contrast, the alkaline earth metals have a completed s subshell in their outermost shell.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
Both atoms, which are in the alkali metal family, have only one electron in a valence s subshell outside a filled set of inner shells.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
This arrangement is emphasized in Figure 6.29, which shows in periodic-table form the electron configuration of the last subshell to be filled by the Aufbau principle.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
The s subshell electron density distribution is spherical and the p subshell has a dumbbell shape.
From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019
"Bang foo runs foo in a subshell, while bang alone shells out."
From The Jargon File, Version 4.2.2, 20 Aug 2000 by Guy L. Steele
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
