Why does 2s have less energy than 1s if they have the same principal quantum number?
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Why does 2s have less energy than 1s if they have the same principal quantum number? by Ciro Santilli 34 Updated 2024-11-19 Created 1970-01-01
The principal quantum number thing fully determining energy is only true for the hydrogen emission spectrum for which we can solve the Schrödinger equation explicitly.
For other atoms with more than one electron, the orbital names are just a very good approximation/perturbation, as we don't have an explicit solution. And the internal electrons do change energy levels.
Note however that due to the more complex effect of the Lamb shift from QED, there is actually a very small 2p/2s shift even in hydrogen.