The electron cloud is made of various standing waves which surround the nucleus, and they are not material. |
We specify quantities upon which the magnitude and shape of the electron cloud density distribution depend sensitively. |
If an electric field is applied to an atom, the electron cloud is displaced a distance relative to the nucleus which consists of positive charges. |
As the electron cloud and the nucleus are displaced, the electron cloud experiences a Coulomb force pulling it back toward the nucleus. |
Electric interactions go right through matter, so the effect of the positive nucleus is not blocked by the surrounding electron cloud. |
The notion of an electron cloud is confusing when students are used to thinking of electrons as individual particles. |