The effective nuclear charge, also known as the kernel charge, is the net positive charge experienced by an
electron in a multielectron
atom. The term "effective" is used because the
shielding effect of negative electrons prevents higher orbital electrons from experiencing the full
nuclear charge.In an atom with one electron, that electron experiences the full charge of the positive
nucleus. In this case, the effective nuclear charge can be calculated from
Coulomb's law.However, in an atom with many electrons, the outer electrons are simultaneously attracted to the positive nucleus and repelled by the negatively charged electrons. The effective nuclear charge on such an electron is given by the following equation: whereZ is the number of protons in the nucleus and S is the average number of electrons between the nucleus and the electron in question, andS can be found by the systematic application of various rule sets, the simplest of which is known as "
Slater's rules" (after the scientist
John C. Slater).
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