Explain the difference between the Bohr model for the hydrogen atom and the quantum-mechanical model.

Question

anonymous · Answer

Well, they are very different models.
Bohr's model is essentially a classical picture of an atom, imagining an electron in orbit around a nucleus, together with some ad hoc rules that allow the calculation of the energy levels of the hydrogen atom.
The quantum mechanical model is what exactly ? Quantum mechanics does not offer a model of the atom that is easy to visualise, unlike the Bohr picture. What it does do is start from the postulates of quantum mechanics and apply them in a coherent way (solving Schroedinger's equation) to successfully predict the observable properties of the hydrogen atom, such as its energy levels and the probablility of finding the electron at a particular location relative to the nucleus.