Lecture 6: 01/30/09

Niels Bohr (1885 – 1962):

Nobel Prize 1922
I1,4 Blackbody Radiation

I2 The Quantized Atom

I2,1 Evidence for quantized energy levels in atoms:
(a) Spectral Lines

energy
  1 
E photon = E i − E f = hcRH  
1
Empirical result: −
 n2 n2 
 f i 
 In a transition from which excited state will
hydrogen atoms emit at the longest wavelength
in the Balmer series (nf = 2)?

A. ni = 2

B. ni = 3

C. ni = 4

D. ni = ∞

E. Something else
More Evidence for Quantized Energy Levels in Atoms
(b) Franck-Hertz Experiment (1914):

Inelastic collision(s)

accel
eratin
poten g retard
tial in
poten g
tial

Emission spectrum shows

strong ultraviolet line of
wavelength 2537 Å
⇒ Ephoton = 4.9 eV.
(c) Electron Scattering on
a Helium Gas Target
Use magnetic field
to measure energy
Inelastic scattering: He of electrons
electrons are excited to
higher energy levels
(d) X-Ray Spectra:
Bremsstrahlung, Lines

Cut-off:
ν = KE of electron
hν

Sharp spectral lines:

intensity

Electron transition
between innermost
”orbits”: hν = Em-En
Continuous
Bremsstrahlung
spectrum

wavelength
Measured x-ray spectra from a rhodium-anode x-ray tube
I2,2 The Bohr Atom (1913)
 Can the electron in the ground state of the
hydrogen atom absorb a photon of energy less
than 13.6 eV?

A. Yes

B. No

C. It depends
 Can the electron in the ground state of the
hydrogen atom absorb a photon of energy more
than 13.6 eV?

A. Yes

B. No

C. It depends