Question

According to Bohr the lowest value of n=1 which gives the smallest possible radius of 0.0529nm. I understand that if the value was lower the electrons from the atom would spiral into the nucleus causing the atom to become unstable. So my question there must be some kinda of force that keeps the electrons from doing this because as electrons are -ve charge and the nucleus is +ve due the protons there is force of attraction between then...so what keeping the electrons in place is due to the energy they have that is able to to kinda of like shield the effect of this force of attraction???

Answer 1

If you want to think in classical terms, it would be their velocity around the nucleus... uniform circular motion stuff... they fall around the nucleus

Answer 2

Electrons aren't classic objects, they can't spiral into anything in the way you're thinking. Quantum mechanical uncertainty keeps the wavefunction finite in extent.

Answer 3

yeah, but this is th Bohr model

Answer 4

Bohr's model is a very basic, semi-classical model of an atom, involving only one electron (or one outer electron for hydrogen-like atoms such as the alkali elements). It is an ad hoc construction with the built in, but inherently unexplained, postulates. The first is that the only a discrete number of orbits are allowed to the electron, and when in those orbits it cannot radiate. No reason force or reason was given to explain this, and hence the Bohr atom is only a very simple tool for explaining hydrogen like atoms.

The second postulate is that only discrete jumps between energy levels are permitted, accompanied by either an absorption or emission of radiation at a given frequency corresponding exactly to the energy difference between energy levels. When the electron is in the n=1 orbital, it is in its lowest energy state (its ground state), meaning that it has no possible lower orbit to jump down to. Since radiation is emitted when the electron makes a transition from a higher orbit to a lower orbit, the electron has no permitted way to shed its excess energy to make the transition, so it cannot approach any further to the nucleus.

In reality, the reason electrons do not spiral into the nucleus, is because the electrons do not actually orbit the nucleus as planets orbit their star, instead the electrons are described by an electron probability distribution, which describes the probability of finding an electron of a particular energy at a particular point in space. This means that the probability of finding the electron at a particular point is governed by the wave nature of the electron, as well as the uncertainty principle. The general argument of the electron being in its ground state in the Bohr model is still applicable to the whole picture.

Answer 5

in short: whats keeping the Earth in orbit around the sun... The Earth's orthogonal velocity, same thing for the electron

Answer 6

like what davidisbored said, you need to stopt thinking of electrons are classically moving objects. e's are really just a a wave of probability. You can think of it like this, since we don't know exactly where they are due to Heisenburghs uncertainty principle, then all we can say is that there is some probability that they will be at some point in space at some time, thus the term "probability density". Since they only have a probability of being somewhere along their orbit, they aren't orbiting, and thus dont follow the usual rules of losing energy as they move round and round. This quantum characteristic of being a probability density function, and not a classically orbiting object, is what is keeping the electron from collapsing into the nucleus, and maintaining the atom's shape. ok, I hope that helps.