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An electron can be bound to the nucleus of an atom by the attractive Coulomb force.
A system of one or more electrons bound to a nucleus is called an atom. If the
number of electrons is different from the nucleus' electrical charge, such an atom
is called an ion. The wave-like behavior of a bound electron is described by a
function called an atomic orbital. Each orbital has its own set of quantum numbers
such as energy, angular momentum and projection of angular momentum, and only a
discrete set of these orbitals exist around the nucleus. According to the Pauli
exclusion principle each orbital can be occupied by up to two electrons, which must
differ in their spin quantum number.