An atom, a continuum and a transition quandary
This piece is a reconciliation to my recent exposure to the concept of atomistics, molecular dynamics, and a transition to continuum over several scales. Atomistics for me, starts with understanding motion of atoms i.e., their nuclei and electrons. Owing to wave particle duality established by Erwin Schrodinger, one could solve for the wave equation and the associated energy of each nucleus, and electrons independently for a given IVP or BVP. However, it is understood that electron motion can be decoupled from motion of nucleus which is several orders of magnitude slower than the former. This postulation attributed to 'Born-Oppenheimer' aides one to account for nucleus motion ahead of electron motion. The latter then can then be established based on pre-computed former's location. Simply put, "know where nuclei are first, for electrons form fast moving clouds around them". Idea of density function theory (DFT): Solving for wave equation and energy for each ...