Schrödinger equation remains key tool in quantum chemistry

A century after its creation, Schrödinger’s equation still underpins how scientists predict the behavior of atoms in chemical reactions. Researchers use it to calculate the odds of finding particles in certain positions, which helps design efficient chemical processes, from biofuels to solar tech. But even with supercomputers, exactly solving this equation is only feasible for the tiniest molecules—things get exponentially harder as molecules grow.

• Schrödinger’s equation is nearly 100 years old
• Central to simulating chemical reactions today
• Wave functions predict particle behavior at quantum level
• Exact solves only possible for tiny molecules
• Computational difficulty grows rapidly with molecule size