Bohr Model of Hydrogen Atom

Bohr Model of Hydrogen Atom
1
Postulates of Bohr Model
The electron revolves in discrete orbits around the nucleus

without radiating any energy, contrary to what classical
electromagnetism principle. In these orbits, the electron's
acceleration does not result in radiation and energy loss.
These discrete orbits are called stationary orbits.

The electron cannot have any other orbit in between the discrete
ones.
The angular momentum of electrons in these orbits is an integral
multiple of the reduced Planck's constant.
mvr = nħ
2
Electron loses energy only when it jumps from one allowed
energy level to another allowed energy level. It radiates energy in
the form of electromagnetic radiation with a
frequency ν determined by the energy difference of the levels
according to the Planck relation:
E2 - E1 = hν
Bohr assumed that during a jump a discrete or quantum of energy

was radiated.
Bohr explained the quantization of the radiation emitted by the

discreteness of the atomic energy levels.
Bohr did not believe in the existence of photons.
3
According to the Maxwell theory the frequency ν of classical
radiation is equal to the rotation frequency ν of the electron in its
orbit, with harmonics as integer multiples of this frequency.
This result is obtained from the Bohr model for jumps between
energy levels En and En−k when k is much smaller than n. These
jumps reproduce the frequency of the kth harmonic of orbit n.
For sufficiently large values of n the two orbits involved in the

emission process have nearly the same rotation frequency, thus
giving credence to the classical orbital frequency. But for
small n or large k, the classical interpretation fails to explain the
radiation frequency.
This leads to the birth of the correspondence principle; quantum
theory agrees with the classical theory only in the limit of large
quantum numbers. 4
Bohr's model holds good for the hydrogen atom. Hydrogen atom is
the simplest atom with one proton and one electron.
The model is also applicable to hydrogen like atoms or ions, e.g.

He+, Li2+, Be3+ which have only one electron.
Drawbacks
Bohr model had several limitations and was replaced by the

quantum mechanic s model.
The model stood strong in explaining spectra of lighter atoms

similar to hydrogen. It could not explain the spectral lines for
heavier atoms.
5
The model could not account for hyperfine structures like
doublets and triplets.
As per the Bohr's model, the angular momentum of the electron

in the ground state of a hydrogen atom is equal to the reduced
Planck constant (h⁄2π). The modern quantum theory says it is zero.
The model didn’t stand to the advent of the dual nature (wave-
particle duality) of the electron.
The model was in contradiction to the later development of the

Heisenberg uncertainty principle that says that the position and
momentum of a particle cannot be determined simultaneously.
However, Bohr model defined the position (orbits) and
momentum of the electron at the same time.
6
Assume a circular orbit for
electrons for convenience
The centripetal force
This force holding the electrons in an orbit of radius r from the

nucleus is provided by the centripetal force
For stable orbits Fc = Fe
The electron velocity v is

related to the orbit radius r by
the formula
7
Kinetic energy of electron in the orbit
Potential energy of the system
The total energy E = T + V
The total energy of the atomic electron is negative. This is

necessary for a bound orbit.
If the energy is zero or positive the electron is not bound to the
nucleus. Experiments show that 13.6 ev energy is needed to
remove the electron from the hydrogen atom orbit.
8
Wave behaviour of electron in the Bohr orbit
The electron speed v is given by
The circumference of the first Bohr orbit is
The circumference is same as the wavelength of the electron.

The orbit of the electron in a hydrogen atom corresponds to one
complete electron wave joined on itself.
The fact that the electron orbit in a hydrogen atom is one electron
wavelength in circumference provides the clue needed to
construct a theory of the atom.
9
Using the concept of the electron matter wave, de Broglie
provided a rationale for the quantization of the electron’s angular
momentum in the hydrogen atom, which was postulated in Bohr’s
quantum theory.
The physical explanation for the first Bohr quantization condition

comes naturally when we assume that an electron in a hydrogen
atom behaves not like a particle but like a wave.
Imagine a stretched string that is clamped at both ends and

vibrates in one of its normal modes. If the length of the string is l,
the wavelengths of these vibrations cannot be arbitrary but must
be such that an integer k number of half-wavelengths fit exactly
on the distance l between the ends.
This is the condition for a standing wave on a string.

10
Now suppose we bend its length into a
circle and fasten its ends to each other.
This produces a circular string that

vibrates in normal modes, satisfying the
same standing-wave condition, but the
number of half-wavelengths must now be
an even number and the length l is now
circumference of the circle.
This means that the radii in Bohr model
are not arbitrary but must satisfy the
following standing-wave condition:
11
If an electron in the nth Bohr orbit moves as a wave, its wavelength
should be equal to
The electron wave of this wavelength corresponds to the

electron’s linear momentum,
In a circular orbit, therefore, the electron’s angular momentum

must be
This equation is the first of Bohr’s quantization conditions.

It provides physical explanation for Bohr’s quantization
condition.
It is a convincing theoretical argument for the existence of
matter waves.
12
n=4 13
Why are these only vibrations possible in a loop?
If a fractional number of
wavelength is placed around the
loop destructive interference will
occur as the waves travel around
the loop, and the vibrations will
die out rapidly.
By considering the behavior of electron waves in the
hydrogen as analogous to the vibrations of a wire loop
we may postulate that an electron can circle a nucleus
indefinitely without radiating energy provided that the
orbit contains an integral number of de Broglie
wavelengths.
14
This postulate combines both the particle and wave characters of
an electron into a single statement, since the electron wavelength
is computed from the orbital speed required to balance the
electrostatic attraction of the nucleus.
While we can never observe these antithetical characters

simultaneously, they are inseparable in nature.
It is a simple matter to express the condition that an electron

orbit contains an integral number of de Broglie wavelengths. The
circumference of the circular orbit of radius r is 2πr, so we may
write the condition for stability as
So the stable electron radii are

15
Energy En is given by
Substituting for rn n=1, 2, 3,……..
Energies specified by this equation are called the energy levels

of hydrogen atom. The levels are all negative, signifying that the
electron doesn’t have enough energy to escape from the atom.
The energy level E1 is called the ground state while E2, E3, E4 are
called excited states.
As the quantum numbers increase the corresponding energy En

increases and approaches 0 in the limit of n→∞, E∞=0 and the
electron is no longer bound to the nucleus to form the atom.
16
The ground state energy E1
of the hydrogen atom is a
convenient energy unit for
use in various aspects of
atomic and molecular
physics. This energy is called
the rydberg (ry) and its
numerical value is
17
When an electron in an excited state drops to a lower state the lost
energy is emitted as a single photon of light. According to the
model an electron cannot reside in an atom except in certain
specified orbits. The quantum number of the initial state (higher
energy level) is ni and that of final state (lower enrgy state) is nf then
Initial energy – final energy = photon energy Ei - Ef = hν
Energy difference between these two states
18
The frequency of the photon released in emission is
This expression states that the radiation emitted by excited

hydrogen atoms should contain certain wavelengths only.
These wavelengths fall into definite sequences that depend upon

the quantum numbers nf of the final state of the electron.
19
The calculated formulae for the first five series are
20
21
22
Quantum
The Bohr Theory
Model
Schrodinger
Discrete Energy Model Failure Equation
Levels
Angular Hyperfine Wave Function

Momentum Structure
Quantization
Wave Nature of Definite position
Electrons and momentum
Classical of electron
Electron Orbit
described in
Could not stand
De Broglie dual nature of
Hypothesis electron
Electron Energy
Made use of
Angular
Planck Momentum in
Orbit Radius Ground State is
Hypothesis
not h⁄2π but 23
0.
Erwin Schrödinger Louis de Broglie
Austrian physicist French physicist
24
De Broglie won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1929, after the
wave-like behaviour of matter was first experimentally
demonstrated in 1927.
Originally, de Broglie thought that real wave having a direct

physical interpretation was associated with particles.
The wave aspect of matter was formalized by a wave

function defined by the Schrödinger equation.
Wave function is a pure mathematical entity. It is a complex

function. It has a probabilistic interpretation, without the support
of real physical elements. This wave function gives an appearance
of wave behavior to matter, without making real physical waves
appear.
25
Prof. Narendra Kumar Pandey
Department of Physics
University of Lucknow
Lucknow-226007
Email: [email protected]
26

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Bohr Model of Hydrogen Atom

The electron revolves in discrete orbits around the nucleus

These discrete orbits are called stationary orbits.

Bohr assumed that during a jump a discrete or quantum of energy

Bohr explained the quantization of the radiation emitted by the

Bohr did not believe in the existence of photons.

For sufficiently large values of n the two orbits involved in the

The model is also applicable to hydrogen like atoms or ions, e.g.

Bohr model had several limitations and was replaced by the

The model stood strong in explaining spectra of lighter atoms

As per the Bohr's model, the angular momentum of the electron

The model was in contradiction to the later development of the

The centripetal force

This force holding the electrons in an orbit of radius r from the

For stable orbits Fc = Fe

The electron velocity v is

Potential energy of the system

The total energy E = T + V

The total energy of the atomic electron is negative. This is

The electron speed v is given by

The circumference of the first Bohr orbit is

The circumference is same as the wavelength of the electron.

The physical explanation for the first Bohr quantization condition

Imagine a stretched string that is clamped at both ends and

This is the condition for a standing wave on a string.

This produces a circular string that

The electron wave of this wavelength corresponds to the

In a circular orbit, therefore, the electron’s angular momentum

This equation is the first of Bohr’s quantization conditions.

While we can never observe these antithetical characters

It is a simple matter to express the condition that an electron

So the stable electron radii are

Substituting for rn n=1, 2, 3,……..

Energies specified by this equation are called the energy levels

As the quantum numbers increase the corresponding energy En

Initial energy – final energy = photon energy Ei - Ef = hν

Energy difference between these two states

This expression states that the radiation emitted by excited

These wavelengths fall into definite sequences that depend upon

Angular Hyperfine Wave Function

Originally, de Broglie thought that real wave having a direct

The wave aspect of matter was formalized by a wave

Wave function is a pure mathematical entity. It is a complex

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