Author JD Lee says in his book, Inorganic Chemistry
The dipole moment of $\ce{XeF6}$ is approximately = $0$ because the lone pair is present in the stereochemically inactive s orbital.
What is this stereochemically inactive s orbital? What does the statement mean?
PS: Please don't provide links to any web pages as I have gone crazy by the definitions they provide and also please try to explain it in an easy language and not some very technical chemistry as I am not an expert.
Answer
An s-orbital is basically a pretty perfect sphere around the nucleus.
A sphere transforms upon itself no matter which element of symmetry you use. Thus, it cannot be the basis of any kind of chirality or other asymmetry.
If therefore the s-orbital is the only one that carries free electrons able to generate a dipole moment, none will be formed because it would be spherical.
(I know this answer bases quite a bit on circular — or should I say: spherical? — reasoning, but I wouldn’t know how else to write it …)
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