atomic orbitals and electron configuration

This higher-energy, less stable state is called the electron’s excited state. But it can move to a higher-energy, less-stable state by absorbing energy. The energy level an electron normally occupies is called its ground state. He said that electrons can be in one energy level or another but not in between. Bohr used the term energy levels (or shells) to describe these orbits of differing energy. The Bohr model shows that the electrons in atoms are in orbits of differing energy around the nucleus. Niels Bohr, explained this line spectrum while developing a model for the atom. This energy is emitted or absorbed as a photon that has energy E = hv. Energy is emitted or absorbed by the electron only as the electron changes from one allowed energy state to another.An electron in an allowed energy state does not radiate energy and, therefore, does not spiral into the nucleus. An electron in a permitted orbit is in an “allowed” energy state.Only orbits of certain radii, corresponding to certain specific energies, are permitted for the electron in a hydrogen atom.Furthermore, he adopted Planck’s idea that energies are quantized.īohr based his model on three postulates: So how can we explain this apparent violation of the laws of physics? Bohr approached this problem in much the same way that Planck had approached the problem of the nature of the radiation emitted by hot objects: He assumed that the prevailing laws of physics were inadequate to describe all aspects of atoms. This behavior, however, does not happen-hydrogen atoms are stable. As an electron loses energy, therefore, it should spiral into the positively charged nucleus. According to classical physics, a charged particle (such as an electron) moving in a circular path should continuously lose energy. To explain the line spectrum of hydrogen, Bohr assumed that electrons in hydrogen atoms move in circular orbits around the nucleus, but this assumption posed a problem. The Bohr model is simple and relatively easy than the other. Today, two models of atomic structure are used to locate electrons in an atom: the Bohr model and the quantum mechanical model. But as scientists learned more about the atom, they found that this representation probably wasn’t accurate. Early models of the atom had electrons spinning around the nucleus in a random fashion or like planets circling the sun.

Atomic orbitals and electron configuration