The easy, and some far more counterintuitive, parts of quantum mechanics are analyzed for monatomic ions ; for the time independent Schrödinger solution for a given set of N nuclei and a number of electrons ; and if the Born-Oppenheimer factorization is acceptable, the (3N-5) dimensional potential surfaces of each electronic state are significant for Stokes shifts of asymmetric luminescence bands, and unexpected shape and positions of new absorption bands due to laser-induced quasi-stationary small concentrations of a low-symmetry excited state.