Born–Oppenheimer approximation
The separation of electronic and nuclear motion based on their large mass difference.
At a glance
Key signals
0% cross fields · reaches 0 more
- Computational Chemistry
- Explanation
- Examples
- Misconception
- Sourced relations
- Attribution
Dependencies
What this concept builds on and what it makes possible — derived from the atlas’s dependency, causal and structural relations, not from every related edge.
Enables · leads to
Density functional theorydepends onBorn–Oppenheimer approximationEstablished
Open Density functional theory →
Density functional theory depends on Born–Oppenheimer approximation.
Potential energy surfacedepends onBorn–Oppenheimer approximationEstablished
Open Potential energy surface →
Potential energy surface depends on Born–Oppenheimer approximation.
Mechanism: Fixing the nuclei lets electronic energy be defined for each geometry.
Structural role & consequence
Interpreted from the current atlas graph — what the connections mean, not just how many there are.
Currently dark in the atlas: no key date stored · 2 of 2 of its relations lack claim-level evidence.
atlas representation · Describes the current Thinking OS representation, not the state of the world.
Structural neighbourhood: 2 → 10 → 21 concepts reachable within 3 hops.
structural · Structural reach — being reachable is not the same as being understood.
All 2 of its relationships stay within its own discipline — a field-specific concept in the current atlas.
structural · Structural graph analysis — not a claim of importance, causation or history.
cross-field
2 within-field, 0 cross-field
Strengths & constraints
Constraints
- Evidence coverage currently thin in the atlas — few of its relationships carry claim-level evidence. atlas representation
- No dated history stored — the atlas records no key date for this concept. atlas representation
Conditions
- Read structurally — most of its relationships carry no external evidence yet, so claims here are graph-derived. structural
Dependency radial
What this concept builds on (left) and what it makes possible (right) — derived from dependency and causal relations.
What builds on this
2 concepts build on this directly, 2 in total, across 1 discipline.
Structural downstream reach along dependency edges — not a claim of historical necessity.
Seen through each discipline
How this concept sits in each of its fields — derived from its real connections in the graph, not asserted.
Through this lens it connects to Potential energy surface and Density functional theory.
Born–Oppenheimer approximation through the Computational Chemistry lens →
Related ideas to explore
Concepts that look related but are not yet connected here — candidates for a connection to reason about, not established links.
- Connects 2 other ideas across 1 discipline.
- Most of its connections are of the “Dependency” kind.
Derived from the graph’s real structure — observations, not a score.
Sources
- Beyond the born-oppenheimer approximation (1999) verified
- The Born-Oppenheimer Approximation (1992) verified