![]() In the Bohr model of the hydrogen atom, the ground state corresponds to the electron being in the innermost orbit. Ordinarily, an atom is in the state of lowest possible energy, its ground state. The energy levels we have been discussing can be thought of as representing certain average distances of the electron’s possible orbits from the atomic nucleus. For example, the concept of sharply defined electron orbits is not really correct however, at the level of this introductory course, the notion that only certain discrete energies are allowable for an atom is very useful. However, we know today that atoms cannot be represented by quite so simple a picture. In this way, we now know the chemical makeup of not just any star, but even galaxies of stars so distant that their light started on its way to us long before Earth had even formed.īohr’s model of the hydrogen atom was a great step forward in our understanding of the atom. Then they can use this knowledge to identify the elements in celestial bodies. This means that each type of atom shows its own unique set of spectral lines, produced by electrons moving between its unique set of orbits.Īstronomers and physicists have worked hard to learn the lines that go with each element by studying the way atoms absorb and emit light in laboratories here on Earth. For our purposes, the key conclusion is this: each type of atom has its own unique pattern of electron orbits, and no two sets of orbits are exactly alike. ![]() ![]() However, because these other atoms ordinarily have more than one electron each, the orbits of their electrons are much more complicated, and the spectra are more complex as well. Similar pictures can be drawn for atoms other than hydrogen. By absorbing energy, the electron can move to energy levels farther from the nucleus (and even escape if enough energy is absorbed). The closer the electron is to the nucleus, the more tightly bound the electron is to the nucleus. An electron in a hydrogen atom can only exist in one of these energy levels (or states). In this simplified model of a hydrogen atom, the concentric circles shown represent permitted orbits or energy levels.
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