Aufbau principle

The Aufbau principle states that, hypothetically, electrons orbiting one or more atoms fill the lowest available energy levels before filling higher levels (e.g., 1s before 2s). In this way, the electrons of an atom, molecule, or ion harmonize into the most stable electron configuration possible.

is a German noun that means construction or "building-up". The Aufbau principle is sometimes called the building-up principle or the Aufbau rule.

The details of this "building-up" tendency are described mathematically by atomic orbital functions. Electron behavior is elaborated by other principles of atomic physics, such as Hund's rule and the Pauli exclusion principle. Hund's rule asserts that even if multiple orbitals of the same energy are available, electrons fill unoccupied orbitals first, before reusing orbitals occupied by other electrons. But, according to the Pauli exclusion principle, in order for electrons to occupy the same orbital, they must have different spins (−1/2 and 1/2).

A version of the Aufbau principle known as the nuclear shell model is used to predict the configuration of protons and neutrons in an atomic nucleus.

The order in which these orbitals are filled is given by the n + ℓ rule, also known as the Madelung rule (after Erwin Madelung), or the Janet rule or the Klechkowsky rule (after Charles Janet or Vsevolod Klechkovsky in some, mostly French and Russian-speaking, countries), or the diagonal rule. Orbitals with a lower n + ℓ value are filled before those with higher n + ℓ values. In this context, n represents the principal quantum number and ℓ the azimuthal quantum number; the values ℓ = 0, 1, 2, 3 correspond to the s, p, d, and f labels, respectively.

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