However, it failed to explain the electronic structure in atoms that contained more than one electron. Levels in other one-electron systems, such as. Bohr's model was also successful at predicting the energy Image credit: from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0įrom this model, Bohr derived an equation that correctly predicted the various energy levels in the hydrogen atom, which corresponded directly to the emission lines in the hydrogen spectrum. Light is emitted when excited electrons,, relax back to a lower energy level. Electrons move in circular orbits that are at fixed distances from the nucleus. The following diagram of the Bohr model shows the electron existing in a finite number of allowed orbits or shells around the nucleus.Ī diagram of the Bohr model of the hydrogen atom. Recall that quantized refers to the fact that energy can only be absorbed and emitted inĪ range of allowable values rather than with any possible value. The quantized emission spectra indicated to Bohr that perhaps electrons could only exist within the atom at certain atomic radii and energies. Image credit: Emission spectrum from Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0 Hydrogen emits four wavelengths of light in the visible region. The following image shows the visible region of the emission spectra for hydrogen. We will start by briefly reviewing Bohr's model of hydrogen, the first non-classical model of the atom.Īs we have seen in a previous article on the Bohr model, the emission spectra of different elements contain discrete lines. Know that the scientists who originally developed it were just as befuddled. So if you feel confused when learning about quantum mechanics, The physicist Niels Bohr also said, "Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood it". If these questions strike you as odd, they should! As it turns out, we are in good company. For example, what does it mean to say an electron behaves likeĪnd a wave? Or that an electron does not exist in any one particular location, but that it is spread out throughout the entire atom? Some of this behavior is so counterintuitive that we can only talk about it with symbols and metaphors – like in poetry. Matter begins to behave very strangely at the subatomic level. "We must be clear that when it comes to atoms, language can only be used as in poetry." – Niels Bohr Introduction to the Quantum Mechanical Model Electron spin and the Stern-Gerlach experiment. Thinking about electrons as probabilistic matter waves using the de Broglie wavelength, the Schrödinger equation, and the Heisenberg uncertainty principle.
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