In 1913, Danish physicist Niels Bohr published a series of papers titled “On the Constitution of Atoms and Molecules” which revolutionized our understanding of the nature of atoms. This month marks the 100th anniversary of Bohr’s final study.
Bohr agreed with previous models that claimed electrons orbit the nucleus of an atom; however, he posited that electrons do not lose energy in their orbit. Instead, electrons travel in fixed levels with discrete energies. He proposed that when electrons change levels, a prescribed amount of energy is released in the form of a certain frequency of light. Bohr supported his findings using spectroscopy, the study of the interaction between matter and radiation.
University particle physicist Stefan Baessler said Bohr was able to answer questions that no one else could.
“Nobody could explain why light only came in specific frequencies [from atoms],” Baessler said. “Bohr explained that only certain frequencies of light were absorbed or emitted based on the changes in discrete energies of the electrons.”
The theory itself was revolutionary, but the implications were even more so. Bohr’s discovery was possible because he did not attempt to fit his observations within the framework of classical physics — he let his observations stand alone.
“What Bohr couldn’t do was explain why electrons within atoms had quantized energies, he only postulated that they did,” Baessler said.
But as other scientists attempted to explain what Bohr couldn’t, quantum theory was advanced. Quantum theory, one of the most significant developments in science, advances the idea that different laws govern the behavior of matter at the subatomic scale.
Scientists such as Erwin Schrodinger and Werner Heisenberg followed in Bohr’s footsteps to further explain the properties of electrons and other particles, making Bohr’s 1913 discovery an essential spark in the quest to understand the universe.
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