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Gerard
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Consider the atomic spectrum (absorption) of hydrogen.

enter image description here

The Bohr's model postulates that there are only certain fixed orbits allowed in the atom. An atom will only be excited to a higher orbit, if it is supplied with light that precisely matches the difference in energies between the two orbits.

But how precise does 'precisely' mean. Of course, if we need energy $E$ to excite the electron to a higher energy level, and I supply a photon with just $E/2$ I would expect nothing to happen (since the electron cannot occupy andan orbit between the allowed ones). But what if I supplied a photon with energy $0.99E$, or $1.0001E$ or some such number. What will happen then?

I think that the electron should still undergo excitation precisely because the lines we observe in the line spectrum have some thickness. Which means that for a given transition, the atom absorbs frequencies in a certain range.

Is my reasoning correct? If not, why? How does Bohr's model explain this? How about modern theory?

If I'm right, what is the range of values that an atom can 'accept' for a given transition?

Consider the atomic spectrum (absorption) of hydrogen.

enter image description here

The Bohr's model postulates that there are only certain fixed orbits allowed in the atom. An atom will only be excited to a higher orbit, if it is supplied with light that precisely matches the difference in energies between the two orbits.

But how precise does 'precisely' mean. Of course, if we need energy $E$ to excite the electron to a higher energy level, and I supply a photon with just $E/2$ I would expect nothing to happen (since the electron cannot occupy and orbit between the allowed ones). But what if I supplied a photon with energy $0.99E$, or $1.0001E$ or some such number. What will happen then?

I think that the electron should still undergo excitation precisely because the lines we observe in the line spectrum have some thickness. Which means that for a given transition, the atom absorbs frequencies in a certain range.

Is my reasoning correct? If not, why? How does Bohr's model explain this? How about modern theory?

If I'm right, what is the range of values that an atom can 'accept' for a given transition?

Consider the atomic spectrum (absorption) of hydrogen.

enter image description here

The Bohr's model postulates that there are only certain fixed orbits allowed in the atom. An atom will only be excited to a higher orbit, if it is supplied with light that precisely matches the difference in energies between the two orbits.

But how precise does 'precisely' mean. Of course, if we need energy $E$ to excite the electron to a higher energy level, and I supply a photon with just $E/2$ I would expect nothing to happen (since the electron cannot occupy an orbit between the allowed ones). But what if I supplied a photon with energy $0.99E$, or $1.0001E$ or some such number. What will happen then?

I think that the electron should still undergo excitation precisely because the lines we observe in the line spectrum have some thickness. Which means that for a given transition, the atom absorbs frequencies in a certain range.

Is my reasoning correct? If not, why? How does Bohr's model explain this? How about modern theory?

If I'm right, what is the range of values that an atom can 'accept' for a given transition?

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Gerard
Gerard
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Why do lines in atomic spectra have thickness? (Bohr's Model)

Consider the atomic spectrum (absorption) of hydrogen.

enter image description here

The Bohr's model postulates that there are only certain fixed orbits allowed in the atom. An atom will only be excited to a higher orbit, if it is supplied with light that precisely matches the difference in energies between the two orbits.

But how precise does 'precisely' mean. Of course, if we need energy $E$ to excite the electron to a higher energy level, and I supply a photon with just $E/2$ I would expect nothing to happen (since the electron cannot occupy and orbit between the allowed ones). But what if I supplied a photon with energy $0.99E$, or $1.0001E$ or some such number. What will happen then?

I think that the electron should still undergo excitation precisely because the lines we observe in the line spectrum have some thickness. Which means that for a given transition, the atom absorbs frequencies in a certain range.

Is my reasoning correct? If not, why? How does Bohr's model explain this? How about modern theory?

If I'm right, what is the range of values that an atom can 'accept' for a given transition?