The term “cloud model” can refer to the electron cloud model or cloud computing. The electron cloud model uses the Schrödinger equation to locate electrons in a hydrogen atom. Cloud computing is a way of allocating resources over the internet, allowing entities to avoid capital expenditures and pay only for what they use. However, it raises concerns about data control and dependency on providers.
The term cloud model can refer to two quite different things. First, it can refer to the electron cloud model (ECM). It can, however, also refer to the style of computing called cloud computing.
The electron cloud model refers to a name given to the results of using the Schrödinger equation to perform a probabilistic location of an electron in a hydrogen atom. The equation was developed by Austrian theoretical physicist Erwin Schrödinger in 1926. The paper in which he published the equation was revolutionary, especially in the realm of quantum mechanics, and for this work he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1933, two years before proposing the thought experiment known as Schrödinger’s cat thought experiment.
The Cloud Model gets its name from the aspect of the probability function that shows where the electron in question is likely to be. The nucleus of the atom is shown as a central point, and the probabilistic locations of where the electron has been and likely will be are shown as tiny dots that appear to form a cloud around the nucleus. Schrödinger’s equation predicts the positions given by the 1913 atomic model proposed by Danish physicist Niels Bohr. The equation has applications in various subspecialties of physics.
The cloud computing model is a way of allocating resources that represents a change in the established practice for building technological capabilities. In the model used so far, an individual, company, school or other entity has provided its own infrastructure, platform and software. This meant that each entity had its own computers, possibly its own server, its own software, its own team of information technology and security specialists, or relied on an Internet Service Provider (ISP), for a small number of these services.
The cloud model looks at virtualized resources that are, as far as possible, delivered over the Internet. This means that what used to be a property is now reconfigured as a service. This has led to terms that reflect this change: IaaS: Infrastructure as a Service; PaaS: platform as a service; and SaaS: software as a service.
This model is seen as useful as entities avoid capital expenditures and pay only for the resources they actually use. Cloud computing services are offered by Adobe®, ThinkFree®, Microsoft®, Google, IBM, Amazon and Sun Microsystems, among others. However, the model raises concerns because data control is off-site and customers are made dependent on providers.
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