# How to Render Realistic Molecular Orbitals? - Quantum Chemistry and Volumetric Shaders

**URL:** <https://blenderartists.org/t/how-to-render-realistic-molecular-orbitals-quantum-chemistry-and-volumetric-shaders/1657619>\
**Category:** Blender Tests\
**Created:** [November 14, 2026, 11:50am UTC](https://blenderartists.org/t/how-to-render-realistic-molecular-orbitals-quantum-chemistry-and-volumetric-shaders/1657619 "2026-11-14T11:50:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![dom128](https://blenderartists.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/a4c791/32.png) [@dom128](https://blenderartists.org/u/dom128)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2026, 11:50am UTC](https://blenderartists.org/t/how-to-render-realistic-molecular-orbitals-quantum-chemistry-and-volumetric-shaders/1657619/1 "2026-11-14T11:50:11Z")

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![example_C22H14_structure_3d](https://blenderartists.org/uploads/default/original/4X/d/4/f/d4fa1d3b1c800cf27214385143b8c8e97533e5ca.jpeg)

A few years ago, I read in a forum entry how to create custom OSL shaders to turn an arbitrary function in (x,y,z) into a volumetric cloud density. Immediately, I began to code a little project that I’ve wanted to realize for years: The hydrogen atom (project link: [Atomic-Orbitals-in-Blender](https://github.com/dom128/Atomic-Orbitals-in-Blender.git)).  
For anyone new to quantum mechanics: The hydrogen atom consists of a relatively immobile proton core and an electron which orbits around it. Unlike the Earth circling the sun, the electron’s orbit is not a sharp circle, but rather is represented by a 3D probability density. The denser the cloud, the more probable it is to find the electron there. It is not mere abstract math, this is something that can be seen experimentally:  
Here is a Blender rendering using my custom OSL shader, comparable to experimental results for which the hydrogen atom was actually measured (source: [phys.org](https://phys.org/news/2013-05-hydrogen-atoms-magnifying-glass.html)):

 ![grid](https://blenderartists.org/uploads/default/original/4X/2/e/d/2ed3cd6b35622885cb1f684e948321308ebcda1a.jpeg)

For molecules, the electron clouds may merge and/or avoid overlap, phenomena widely known as chemical bonds and anti-bonding. The merger and repulsion of electron orbitals between atoms are the very backbone of chemistry, and they are what hold all matter of our daily life together. The shared orbitals across a molecule are also known as ‘molecular orbitals’ and they represent what the electrons in a molecule actually look like. They very much are the shape of the molecules. In the following, you see the possible electron ‘orbits’ in a molecule which may be occupied by up to two electrons with opposite intrinsic angular momentum (a property called the ‘spin’ of an electron).  
The example shows a molecule called pentacene and the electron ‘wave functions’. The color encodes the sign of the wave (red is positive - blue negative). The quantum chemistry tools and the OSL shader generation are implemented in my newest project [Molecular-Orbitals-in-Blender](https://github.com/dom128/Molecular-Orbitals-in-Blender).

 ![grid2](https://blenderartists.org/uploads/default/original/4X/0/6/4/0649471acaa9658e2c138bec53c726ec23916cd8.jpeg)

How real are these orbitals? - An example comparing real images of pentacene using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) with simulations are published under [journals.aps.org](https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.026803).