BOHRS THEORY OF HYDROGEN ATOM

1. BOHRS POSTULATES
2. EXPRESSION FOR RADIUS OF AN ORBIT
3. DERIVATION ENERGY OF AN ELECTRON:
KINETIC ENERGY, POTENTIONAL ENERGY AND
TOTAL ENERGY
4. BOHRS EXPLANATION OF HYDROGEN SPECTRUM
5. VARIOUS SERIES OF HYDROGEN ATOM
6. DERIVATION OF R: 1 / = R (1/ n
f
2
1/ n
i
2
)
7. EXPERIMENTAL CONFIRMATION: FRANK-HERTZ
EXPERIMENT

FOUR QUANTUM NUMBERS
1. PRINCIPAL QUANTUM NUMBER
2. ORBITAL QUANTUM NUMBER
3. SPIN ANGULAR QUANTUM NUMBER
4. MAGNETIC QUANTUM NUMBER

PAULIS EXCLUSION PRINCIPLE

Ref: Perspective of Modern Physics By Beiser
Modern Physics By Theraja
Physics of atom By Rajyam

The observation of line spectra from rarified
gases in electrical discharge tubes could also not
be explained by classical physics.
The only way to explain
line spectra was to
assume that the electrons
could occupy stationary
states in the atom, and
that radiation would only
be emitted upon a
transition between two
stationary states at
different energies
ATOMIC LINE SPECTRA
V
H
2
DISCHARGE COLLIMATORS DIFFRAACTION SCREEN
TUBE GRATING
u
BOHR MODEL OF THE ATOM


Bohr set out to explain
location of spectral lines of hydrogen (e.g., Balmer
series)
Johann Balmer measured the wavelengths of this
series of lines from atomic hydrogen and found that they
fit the relation
1/ = const ( 1/4 1/n
2
).(1)
where n = 3, 4, 5, 6.
SPECTRAL SERIES OF H ATOM
1/ = R

( 1/n
2
1/m
2
)
R being the Rydberg const for infinite nuclear mass
1. Lyman Series (uv region), n=1, m=2, 3, 4
2. Balmer Series (visible), n=2, m=3, 4, 5
3. Paschen series (IR) n=3, m= 4, 5, 6
4. Brackett Series (IR) n=4, m=5, 6, 7
5. Pfund Series (IR) n=5, m= 6, 7, 8

BOHRS POSTULATES
In 1913, Niels Bohr proposed a model which is
based on the following three postulates :
1. The nucleus is considered to be a point mass
located at the center of the atom, while the
electrons move in circular orbits around it
The electrostatic attraction between the positive
nucleus and negative electron keeps the electron
in orbit.
) 2 ..( ..........
4
1
2
2 2
r
e
r
mv
o
tc
=

2. Only those circular orbits of electrons are
permissible for which the angular momentum of
the atom is an integral multiple of . h/2t





These permissible orbits are 'steady' or 'stationary'.
.

) 3 ......( .......... 2 /
.... , 3 , 2 , 1 ; . .
t h
n n mvr e i
=
= =

3. Electrons in 'stationary'
orbits do not radiate their
energy; only when the
electron jumps from a one
orbit to another, the
difference in the energy of
the orbits is absorbed or
emitted depending on
whether the transition
corresponds to excitation
or deexcitation. Emission
of energy is in the form of
a photon:
E
2
E
1
= AE = hv .(4)

Derivation of Quantized Energy States
The circular orbits postulated for the
electron requires a balance between the
centripetal [(4tc
o
)
1
q
1
q
2
/r
2
]

and centrifugal
(mv
2
/r) forces.
(4tc
o
)
1
q
1
q
2
/r
2
= (kZe)e/r
2
=mv
2
/r (1)

where for convenience we use k = (4tc
o
)
1
= 8.99 x
10
9
N m
2
/C
2
.
Recall that the angular momentum is mvr, and so
Bohr's postulate about angular momentum is
mvr = nh/2t (2)
Combining equation (1) with (2), we can solve for r, the
radius of the orbit, as
m(kZe)e = m
2
v
2
r
2
/r = n
2
h
2
/4t
2
r
or
r = n
2
(h
2
/4t
2
me
2
kZ) = c
o
n
2
h
2
/ tmZe
2
...........(3)
= a
1
n
2

where a
1
= c
o
h
2
/ tmZe
2
= 5.29 x 10
11
m is the Bohr
radius for the ground state of the hydrogen atom.
This equation says that electrons are allowed only
in orbits of certain (quantized) radii, as n = 1, 2, 3... .
Associated with these quantized orbits is a
quantized energy. Total energy is the sum of kinetic
energy and potential energy, E = K + U.
We will take the zero of potential energy at
infinity. The potential energy difference is just the
negative of work, or force times the displacement, so the
potential energy of an electron inside an atom is
U = } dU = } kZe
2
/r
2
dr = kZe
2
/r
so that the total energy is K.E. + P.E.
E = 1/2 mv
2
kZe
2
/r
and using equations (1), (2) and (3)
above, after some simple mathematics,
we find the quantized energy
E
n
= (2t
2
me
4
k
2
Z
2
)/n
2
h
2
= -m Z
2
e
4
/8c
o
2

h
2
n
2
Note: The total energy is negative, or
the electron is bound, and that as n >
infinity, E >0. The number n is called
the principal quantum number.
The quantity (2t
2
me
4
k
2
Z
2
)/h
2
is a constant that
depends only on fundamental physical quantities,
R' = (2t
2
me
4
k
2
)/h
2
= 13.6 eV.
The electron-volt (eV) is a unit of energy (the
energy an electron would gain after acceleration through
a potential of 1 volt). 1 eV = 1.602 x 10
19
J.
Thus the total energy equation becomes extremely
simple:
E
n
= R' Z
2
/n
2
.
E
n
= 13.6/n
2
eV for H atom.

THE BOHR MODEL OF THE HYDROGEN ATOM (Z = 1)
GAVE US THE FOLLOWING RESULTS:
The angular momentum, l, was postulated to be
quantized according to
l = mvr = nh/2t. where n is the principle quantum
number.
The radii of allowed electron orbits were also quantized
according
r = a
o
n
2
= n
2
h
2
/(4t
2
ke
2
m)
where a
o
= 5.29 x 10
11
m is the Bohr radius.

The energies of the orbits were likewise quantized
according to
E
n
= R' [1/n
2
]
where R' = 13.6 eV is a constant.
The difference between energy levels (orbits)
corresponds to a wavelength
1/
ab
= v
ab
/c = (E
b
E
a
)/ch=R
H
[1/n
a
2
1/n
b
2
]
where R
H
= 10.96776 m
-1
is the same Rydberg
constant that was measured experimentally by
Rydberg.

Here is a scale model of the orbits of the hydrogen
atom, with the radii getting further apart according to n
2
:
However, despite the orbits getting ever farther apart
in space, they get closer together in energy according
to 1/n
2
. Any energy level diagram is shown below:

SPECTRAL SERIES OF HYDROGEN
ATOM
1/ = v/c = (E
2

- E
1
)/ch=R
H
[1/n
1
2
1/n
2
2
]
S
No
Series observed Value
of n
1

Value of
n
2

Position in
the spectrum
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Lyman series
Balmer series
Paschen series
Brackett series
Pfund series
1
2
3
4
5

2,3,4
3,4,5
4,5,6
5,6,7
6,7,8
Ultra violet
Visible
Infra-red
Infra-red
Infra-red

K G A
V V
o
Hg
CONFIRMATION OF BOHRS THEORY
The Franck-Hertz experiment is one of the
classic demonstrations of the quantization of
atomic energy levels. Electrons emitted by the
filament are accelerated through mercury vapor.
When the accelerating voltage reaches V
1
, the
electrons have just enough energy to excite the
mercury atoms from the ground state to the
lowest excited state. Thus, many of the
electrons lose their energy and cannot reach the
collector;
this is signaled by an
abrupt drop in collector
current as the
accelerating voltage is
increased past V
1
.
Figure shows qualitative trend of collector current
vs. accelerating voltage. As the accelerating
voltage is increased beyond V
1
, electrons which
have been brought to rest as a result of exciting
mercury atoms are again accelerated until they
can produce another excitation. Thus, a second
peak occurs at V
2
, where ideally one expects V
2
-
V
1
= V
1
.
However, contact
potentials in the system
displace the first peak
at V
1
from its expected
value, and V
1
itself is
not a good measure of
the excitation potential.
The sequence of electron acceleration and atomic
excitation may continue as the accelerating
voltage is further increased so that a series of
peaks may be observed.
Breakdown of the gas in the tube will occur when
the accelerating voltage becomes too high. Onset
of breakdown may be delayed by increase in
vapor pressure (higher oven temperature) or
decrease in number of electrons (lower filament
current).