Diagram of the electric field potential around water

Is there diagram of the electric field around a water molecule. I have seen some simplifications that treat hydrogen as a positive point source and oxygen as a negative point source. But I am looking for one that shows the how the shapes of the orbitals effect the field.




You *might* be asking about an **electrostatic potential surface/diagram**... They illustrate the electrostatic charge around the molecule at some distance away from the atoms in the molecule (you basically get an idea of how positive or negative the region around the molecule is). The diagram is only valid for where the electrostatic potential calculations were run (the coordinates where the charge was evaluated) — in areas closer or further away from the molecule, your surface would be different (i.e. magnitudes of the charge would probably be larger), and the trends would change.


If you're looking for a cross section, as opposed to a surface, you might be asking about a **charge density plot**, which are essentially heat maps (sometimes contour plots) of the charges in certain regions around atoms/molecules.


Or, to be honest, you might just be looking for a simple **2D contour plot** of the orbitals. They're easy to find, and will often separate the different orbitals to show each of their shapes.


That being said, while I was looking for the names of these diagrams, I came across an article$^1$ with several warnings about accepting the implications figures of contour plots and other orbital representations. Not sure what level of chemistry you're at (high school, undergraduate, PhD etc.), but might be worth checking it out.


1. Autschbach, J. Orbitals: Some Fiction and Some Facts. *J. Chem. Educ.* **2012**, *89* (8), 1032-1040. DOI: 10.1021/ed200673w.


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