- The reasons behind the greater stability of the atoms having half-filled or fully filled orbitals are symmetry and exchange energy. - We know that half-filled or fully filled atomic orbitals have more symmetry than any other electronic configuration and this symmetry leads to the greater stability of the atom.

What is meant by half filled orbital?

An orbital when filled with minimum one electron less from its maximum strength for holding total number of electrons in it will be called as partially filled atomic orbital/s. Explanation: Like for eg, for Boron(B), its electronic configuration is 1s²2s²2p¹

What is difference between half filled and partially filled orbital?

The exactly half filled and completely filled orbitals have greater stability than other partially filled configurations in degenerate orbitals. This can be explained on the basis of symmetry and exchange energy.