Term Symbols and Russell–Saunders Coupling, Step by Step
Inorganic Chemistry · Spectra Term Symbols and Russell–Saunders Coupling, Step by Step A mechanical procedure that looks abstract. Follow the five steps in order and any ground-state term symbol takes about a minute. BSc & MSc · Inorganic Chemistry · Method The short answer: Combine the individual orbital angular momenta into L and the spins into S, then couple them into J. The term symbol is written 2S+1LJ. Hund’s rules then pick the ground state: maximum multiplicity first, then maximum L, then J by whether the shell is less or more than half filled. What a term symbol encodes 2S+1LJ…