Bohr’s Atomic Theory

Lauren Simonton

Mary Heim

Krystal Reese

Hope Dubbs

Bohr’s Background• Born: October 7,1885.• Died: November 18, 1962.• In the fall of 1911 he worked under Sir.

J.J. Thomson.• In the spring of 1912 he was working

with Professor Rutherford’s laboratory in Manchester.

• In 1922 he was awarded the noble prize for developing the Bohr Theory of the atom.

• During World War II, Bohr fled Copenhagen to escape the Nazis. He traveled to Los Alamos, New Mexico to advise the scientist developing the first atomic bomb.

• He returned to Copenhagen after the war and later promoted the peaceful use of atomic energy.

An earlier theory

• Rutherford:born on August 30, 1871, in Nelson, New Zealand.

• Discovered the inner nature of an atom. Which he called the nucleus.

• Showed that the atoms consisted of a positively charged nucleus and has negatively charged electrons in orbit around it.

Theory • Published a theory about the structure of the atom based on an earlier theory of

Rutherford. • Bohr expanded upon this theory by proposing that electrons travel only in certain

successively larger orbits. He suggested that the outer orbits could have more electrons than the inner ones, and that these outer orbits determine the atoms chemical property.

• He also described the way atoms emit radiation by suggesting that when an electron jumps from an outer orbit to an inner orbit, that it emits light.

• He constructed the first quantum model for the internal structure of the atom. • In the 1920’s Bohr’s Theory became the basis for quantum mechanics’ which

explained in greater detail the complex structure and behavior of atoms.

Planetary Model

Later Theory

• Later on physicists expanded his theory into quantum mechanics. This theory explains the structure and actions of complex atoms.

• Quantum theory, modern physical theory concerned with the emission and absorption of energy by matter and with the motion of material particles.

• The quantum theory and the theory of relativity together form the theoretical basis of modern physics. Just as the theory of relativity assumes importance in the special situation where very large speeds are involved, so the quantum theory is necessary for the special situation where very small quantities are involved, i.e., on the scale of molecules, atoms, and elementary particles.

Work Cited

• Www.lucidcafe.com/library/95oct/nbohr.html

• www.suite101.com/blog/telstar/niels_bohr_danish_physicist• http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1908/rutherford-bio.html• http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0905226.html• http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A0840721.html