A web gallery depicting atomic orbitals

Orbitron is a free website that features an image gallery of atomic orbitals. The gallery is provided for educational purposes and is being actively worked on by the University of Sheffield, with more content planned to be added in the future. The gallery contains up to 7 levels of atomic orbitals.

This website is a learning aid, but unlike software like Universe Sandbox 2, which can be enjoyed as a game or toy as it can for learning, Orbitron is a purely educational resource and requires a good understanding of the subject matter to be of any use.

Atomic orbitals

An atomic orbital is a function that describes the location and wave-like behavior of an electron in an atom. Essentially, it can be used to calculate the probability of an electron being found in a particular location around an atom’s nucleus. Orbitron shows this region of probability as a 3D rendered image.

Ray-traced orbital images

The benefit of Orbitron is that it presents these atomic orbitals as ray-traced 3D renders, making it easier to visualize the regions of probability. Each image is accompanied by the relevant information, and there are up to 7 levels of orbitals included, as well as some higher orbitals.

Not for laypersons

While Orbitron is a useful educational tool, it is not designed for laypeople who do not already have a good grasp of the subject matter, so it should not be treated as a learning aid for people who are just starting out. This Orbitron is a rewrite of a 2002 version of the same resource.