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Bohr model
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Diagram of the Bohr atomic model for a nitrogen atom, showing a central nucleus with protons and neutrons, surrounded by two rings of orbiting electrons. Labels identify protons, neutrons, electrons, and electron orbits.
Niels Bohr's contribution to atomic theory explained
Diagram of the Bohr atomic model showing an electron moving in circular orbits with quantized energy levels around a central nucleus, alongside an energy level diagram illustrating electron transitions. Bohr model of a fluorine atom showing a central cluster of red and yellow spheres for protons and neutrons, with blue electrons orbiting in two rings. Diagram comparing the hydrogen atom's energy levels using Bohr's model, the Schrodinger equation, and the Dirac equation, with horizontal lines representing quantized binding energies and labels for each energy state.
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Diagram of the Bohr atomic model for a nitrogen atom, showing a central nucleus with protons and neutrons, surrounded by two rings of orbiting electrons. Labels identify protons, neutrons, electrons, and electron orbits.
Bohr atomic model of a nitrogen atom The diagram illustrates a nitrogen atom according to the Bohr model, with protons and neutrons in the nucleus and electrons arranged in shells around it.

Bohr model

physics
Also known as: Bohr atomic model, Bohr theory
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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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Bohr model, description of the structure of atoms, especially that of hydrogen, proposed (1913) by the Danish physicist Niels Bohr. The Bohr model of the atom, a radical departure from earlier, classical descriptions, was the first that incorporated quantum theory and was the predecessor of wholly quantum-mechanical models. The Bohr model and all of its successors describe the properties of atomic electrons in terms of a set of allowed (possible) values. Atoms absorb or emit...

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