Episode 14: Principles of Quantum Mechanics
The Science of Everything Podcast
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How to Get a Standing Wave
A standing wave occurs when two waves are interfering with each other. This can only occur under certain conditions, such as a wavelength ratio of 2.7 times the size of the cavity in which it is confined. So you can have whole number multiples of the wavelength but not seven and a half or 7.325 because that just wouldn't work. That explains why only certain energy levels of electrons are allowable around the nucleus. It's because an electron is a standing wave that exists in three-dimensional space near the nucleus.
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