Monday, November 7, 2011

What are the drawbacks of Bohr's atomic theory?

The main drawback of Bohr's theory is that it only really fits with the model of a hydrogen atom. He proposed that the electrons of an atom literally "orbit" around the nucleus an atom, similar to the ellipses of planets around the sun. However, electrons do not orbit the nucleus of an atom, but rather moves around randomly. These movements are known as "orbitals" today, and do not give a representation of the electron's movements, but rather an estimation of where a particular electron can be found (as in the likelihood). Also, Bohr did not consider the changes in an electron's energy level.

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