Niels Bohr and the dawn of quantum theory

Abstract

Bohr’s atomic model, one of the very few pieces of physics known to the general public, turned a hundred in 2013: a very good reason to revisit Bohr’s original publications in the Philosophical Magazine, in which he introduced this model. It is indeed rewarding to (re-)discover what ideas and concepts stood behind it, to see not only ‘orbits’, but also ‘rings’ and ‘flat ellipses’ as electron trajectories at work, and, in particular, to admire Bohr’s strong belief in the importance of Planck’s law.

Keywords:

• atomic structure
• electron energy states
• electron theory

Notes

1 Ştefan_Procopiu.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ştefan_Procopiu.

2 cosec$(x)=csc(x)={sin}^{-1}(x)$

3 The eccentricity $e$ is defined as ${\left(\left(a^2,-,b^2\right),/,a^2\right)}^{1/2}$, where $a$ and $b$ is the major and minor semi-axis, respectively, see also Figure 5.