Atomic spectrum of hydrogen

The hydrogen atom, containing a single electron, has played a major role in the development of models of electronic structure. In 1913 Niels Bohr (1885-1962), a Danish physicist, offered a theoretical explanation of the atomic spectrum of hydrogen. His model was based largely on classical mechanics. In 1922 this model earned him the Nobel Prize in physics. By that time, Bohr had become director of the Institute of Theoretical Physics at Copenhagen. There he helped develop the new discipline of quantum mechanics, used by other scientists to construct a more sophisticated model for the hydrogen atom. 

The Brackett series lines in the atomic spectrum of hydrogen result from transitions from n > 4 to n = 4. 

Wavelength (A) A characteristic property of a wave related to its color and equal to the length of a full wave, 133 atomic spectrum of hydrogen, 136 color and, 17t... 

Figure 1.4. A part of the atomic spectrum of hydrogen (/. = wavelength)...

The quantum theory, however, is essentially a physical theory, developed to explain observations like the atomic spectrum of hydrogen. Chemical ideas do not emerge from it easily. The theory is also very mathematical. Most chemists have to accept the results of quantum-mechanical calculations on trust. My approach avoids these problems. While I bring in the quantum theory where it is helpful, my treatment is essentially chemical. This makes for an easier introduction to the subject, and leads, I believe, to a better understanding of the key ideas, and the chemical thinking behind them. 

IBLG See questions from The Nature of Matter and the Atomic Spectrum of Hydrogen ... 

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