Topic 7 Handout

EGERTON UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF OPEN AND DISTANCE

LEARNING
E-CAMPUS
PHYS 105: Physics for Engineers II

Topic 7 Handout
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Page 1 of 7
Bohr’s Model of the Hydrogen Atom
Niels Bohr in 1913 presented a new model of the hydrogen atom that
circumvented the difficulties of Rutherford’s planetary model. Bohr applied
Planck’s ideas of quantized energy levels to Rutherford’s orbiting atomic
electrons. Bohr’s theory was historically important to the development of
quantum physics, and it appeared to explain the spectral line series.
Although Bohr’s model is now considered obsolete and has been completely
replaced by a probabilistic quantum-mechanical theory, we can use the
Bohr model to develop the notions of energy quantization and angular
momentum quantization as applied to atomic-sized systems. Bohr
combined ideas from Planck’s original quantum theory, Einstein’s concept
of the photon, Rutherford’s planetary model of the atom, and Newtonian
mechanics to arrive at a semiclassical structural model based on some
revolutionary ideas. The structural model of the Bohr theory as it applies to
the hydrogen atom has the following properties:
1. The electron moves in circular orbits around the proton under the
influence of the electric force of attraction as shown in the figure
below,
2. Only certain electron orbits are stable. When in one of these

stationary states, the electron does not emit energy in the form of
radiation, even though it is accelerating. Hence, the total energy of
the atom remains constant and classical mechanics can be used to
describe the electron’s motion. Bohr’s model claims that the
Page 2 of 7
centripetally accelerated electron does not continuously emit
radiation, losing energy and eventually spiraling into the nucleus, as
predicted by classical physics in the form of Rutherford’s planetary
model.
3. The atom emits radiation when the electron makes a transition from
a more energetic initial stationary state to a lower-energy stationary
state. This transition cannot be visualized or treated classically. In
particular, the frequency f of the photon emitted in the transition is
related to the change in the atom’s energy and is not equal to the
frequency of the electron’s orbital motion. The frequency of the
emitted radiation is found from the energy-conservation expression
where Ei is the energy of the initial state, Ef is the energy of the final
state, and . In addition, energy of an incident photon can be
absorbed by the atom, but only if the photon has energy that exactly
matches the difference in energy between an allowed state of the
atom and a higher-energy state. Upon absorption, the photon
disappears and the atom makes a transition to the higher-energy
state.
4. The size of an allowed electron orbit is determined by a condition
imposed on the electron’s orbital angular momentum: the allowed
orbits are those for which the electron’s orbital angular momentum
about the nucleus is quantized and equal to an integral multiple of
where me is the electron mass, is the electron’s speed in its orbit,

and is the orbital radius.
From the above postulates, the total energy of the atom, which consists of
the electron’s kinetic energy and the system’s potential energy, is
Page 3 of 7
Where
Therefore,
The electron is modeled as a particle in uniform circular motion, so the
electric force exerted on the electron must equal the product of its
mass and its centripetal acceleration ( ),
Using above expression we find that the kinetic energy of the electron is,
Substituting this value of K into energy equation above gives the following
expression for the total energy of the atom,
Because the total energy is negative, which indicates a bound electron–
proton system, energy in the amount of must be added to the atom to
remove the electron and make the total energy of the system zero. We can
obtain an expression for , the radius of the allowed orbits, by solving for
,
Page 4 of 7
The above equation shows that the radii of the allowed orbits have discrete
values: they are quantized. The result is based on the assumption that the
electron can exist only in certain allowed orbits determined by the integer
n. The orbit with the smallest radius, called the Bohr radius ,
corresponds to n = 1 and has the value,
The quantization of orbit radii leads to energy quantization. Substituting

in to the total energy equation gives,
Inserting numerical values into this expression, we find that,
Only energies satisfying this equation are permitted. The lowest allowed
energy level, the ground state, has n = 1 and energy E1 = -13.606 eV. The
next energy level, the first excited state, has n = 2 and energy
We can calculate the frequency of the photon emitted when the

electron makes a transition from an outer orbit to an inner orbit,
Because the quantity measured experimentally is wavelength, it is

convenient to use to express the above equation in terms of
wavelength,
where the constant is equal to the experimentally determined
Rydberg constant.
Page 5 of 7
Worked example
The electron in a hydrogen atom makes a transition from the n = 2 energy
level to the ground level (n = 1). Find the wavelength and frequency of the
emitted photon.
Solution
We evaluate the results using equations developed above to obtain , with
ni = 2 and nf = 1 ,
To find the frequency of the photon,
X-Ray Production
X-rays are emitted when high-energy electrons or any other charged
particles bombard a metal target. The x-ray spectrum typically consists of
a broad continuous band containing a series of sharp lines as shown in
Figure below. As mentioned earlier, an accelerated electric charge emits
electromagnetic radiation. The x-rays in the figure are the result of the
slowing down of high-energy electrons as they strike the target. It may
take several interactions with the atoms of the target before the electron
gives up all its kinetic energy. The amount of kinetic energy given up in
any interaction can vary from zero up to the entire kinetic energy of the
electron. Therefore, the wavelength of radiation from these interactions lies
in a continuous range from some minimum value up to infinity. It is this
general slowing down of the electrons that provide the continuous curve in
the figure, which shows the cutoff of x-rays below a minimum wavelength
value that depends on the kinetic energy of the incoming electrons. X-ray
radiation with its origin in the slowing down of electrons is called
bremsstrahlung, the German word for “braking radiation.”
Page 6 of 7
Extremely high-energy bremsstrahlung can be used for the treatment
of cancerous tissues. The discrete lines in the figure, called characteristic
x-rays, have a different origin. The first step in the production of
characteristic x-rays occurs when a bombarding electron collides with a
target atom. The electron must have sufficient energy to remove an inner-
shell electron from the atom. The vacancy created in the shell is filled when
an electron in a higher level drops down into the level containing the
vacancy. The time interval for atomic transitions to happen is very short,
less than 10-9 s. This transition is accompanied by the emission of a
photon whose energy equals the difference in energy between the two
levels. Typically, the energy of such transitions is greater than 1 000 eV
and the emitted x-ray photons have wavelengths in the range of 0.01 nm
to 1 nm.
Page 7 of 7

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EGERTON UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF OPEN AND DISTANCE

PHYS 105: Physics for Engineers II

Copyright© Egerton University

"Transforming Lives through Quality Education"

2. Only certain electron orbits are stable. When in one of these

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where me is the electron mass, is the electron’s speed in its orbit,

The electron is modeled as a particle in uniform circular motion, so the

mass and its centripetal acceleration ( ),

Because the total energy is negative, which indicates a bound electron–

proton system, energy in the amount of must be added to the atom to

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The quantization of orbit radii leads to energy quantization. Substituting

Inserting numerical values into this expression, we find that,

We can calculate the frequency of the photon emitted when the

Because the quantity measured experimentally is wavelength, it is

where the constant is equal to the experimentally determined

To find the frequency of the photon,

"Transforming Lives through Quality Education"

"Transforming Lives through Quality Education"

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