Can someone explain paramagnetism ?
Regardless of its electron configuration, it must always be paramagnetic when it's a single, neutrally charged atom.
a) carbon
b) nitrogen
c) oxygen
d) neon
e) argon
Now the book says that nitrogen is paramagnetic but isn't carbon and oxygen also paramagnetic? I know neon and argon are diamagnetic because of their filled p subshells, but explain the difference in nitrogen, carbon and oxygen please.
Answer:
Basically substances that are attracted in a magnetic field are said to be paramagnetic. Paramagnetism is basically caused by the spin of electrons. An electron in an atom has magnetic properties that are expected of a spinning or a charged particle. Each electron has a magnetic field with a north pole and south pole. Basically it acts like a tiny magnet. The electron spin is persay quantized such that in an external magnetic field there are only two orientations of the electron and spin that is possible. Basically the orientation is associated with what they call a spin magnetic quantum number. The two quantum numbers would be +1/2 and -1/2 for each orientation of spin up and spin down, north or south or positive and negative.
Note that one or two electrons are assigned to each orbital in an atom. Basically the two electrons that are assigned to the same orbital have opposite spin orientations, or the two electrons are "paired".
Oxygen has 5 electrons in the p orbital. Considering what I said above the first two electrons are paired and well as 3 and 4. The fifth electron is unpaired and therfore it has a spin, making it paramagnetic.
Nitrogen is paramagnetic for the same reason as oxygen. Carbon is not paramagnetic because it has two electrons in the p orbitals and there is no unpaired electron.
Hope this helped
If it has UNPAIRED electrons, it is paramagnetic (attracted into a magnetic field, not repelled)
So since C (6 e's) and O (8 e's) have all their electrons paired, they are diamagnetic.
oxygen is only paramagnetic if looked at with the molecular hybrdization treatment, but with hybridization and lewis it is diamagnetic meaning it has all paired elections
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