Re: Another student question

[Jim Riley <jriley@lib.drury.edu>]

At 11:55 AM 11/14/97 -0500, Michael N. Monce wrote:
> >
>
> 	My take on this is that the Bohr model starts out with the proper
> quantization of the z-component of the orbital angular momentum; namely
> m*hbar.
>
>
> 				Mike Monce
> 				Connecticut College


Unfortunately it isn't the proper quantization.  For the ground state of the
H atom the Bohr model assumes an angular momentem of hbar.  In the
Schrodinger solution the angular momentum is given by L square = (l)(l+1)h
bar and the z component of the angular momentum by Lz=m hbar.  But m must be
less than or equal to l and l must be less than n.  For the ground state of
the hydrogen atom n = 1 , l=m=o.  It has no (orbital) angular momentum, so
Bohr's initial postulate by which he calculated the energy of the various
levels in the hydrogen atom was wrong.  Why does he get the right answer?
Luck I guess.  
Jim Riley
Department of Physics
Drury College
Springfield Missouri  65802
(417) 873 7233
e-mail:  jriley@lib.drury.edu
fax: (417) 873 7432