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Example · Example 4

Q.State Bohr's three postulates for the hydrogen atom, explaining what each one assumes that goes beyond classical electromagnetic theory.

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Postulate 1 (stationary orbits). An electron can revolve only in certain special orbits, called stationary orbits, in which -- contrary to classical EM theory -- it does NOT radiate energy. In such an orbit, Coulomb attraction supplies the centripetal force: 14πϵ0Ze2r2=mv2r\frac{1}{4\pi\epsilon_0}\frac{Ze^2}{r^2}=\frac{mv^2}{r}. This postulate is what suspends classical radiation and gives the atom stability, resolving Rutherford's first limitation.

Postulate 2 (quantisation of angular momentum). Only orbits for which the electron's angular momentum is an integral multiple of h/2πh/2\pi are allowed: mvr=nh2πmvr=\frac{nh}{2\pi}, n=1,2,3,…n=1,2,3,\ldots (the principal quantum number). This restricts the continuous range of classically possible orbits to a discrete, countable set. …

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