From Wikipedia:
"An atomic orbital is a mathematical function that describes the wave-like behavior of either one electron or a pair of electrons in an atom. This function can be used to calculate the probability of finding any electron of an atom in any specific region around the atom's nucleus. The term may also refer to the physical region or space where the electron can be calculated to be present, as defined by the particular mathematical form of the orbital."
What I'd like to know is: when considering the benzene ring to be a planar structure, what would be the height of the pi-lobe from the peripheral carbon atoms?
In principle there are no atomic orbitals in benzene but only molecular orbitals constructed by linear combination of atomic orbitals (LCAO). The molecular orbital you are describing is the space where there is 95% probability of finding the electron. The exact shape of the orbital will likely depend on the QM model used, but it should be fairly consistent. You can find a really great presentation on the subject on the following link and judging by the eye the simple answer to your question would be about 100-120 pm.
http://www.chemtube3d.com/BenzeneMOs.html
ya actually I too meant that of the molecular orbital (you got it right), my attachment lines were wrong(i admit). any how, Thank you for the link @Matej Repič
Electrons in atoms or molecules would be bounded by some Angstrom distances. In hydrogen atom it starts from about half an Angstrom. At any distance a fractional total charge may be evaluated based on the wave function of the orbital.
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