An interesting application of Bohr theory

Giora Hon, Bernard R. Goldstein

The quantum theory of Bohr has roots in the theories of Rutherford and J. J. Thomson on the one hand, and that of Nicholson on the other. We note that Bohr neither presented the theories of Rutherford and Thomson faithfully, nor did he refer to the theory of Nicholson in its own terms. The contrasting attitudes towards these antecedent theories is telling and reveals the philosophical disposition of Bohr. We argue that Bohr intentionally avoided the concept of model as inappropriate for describing his proposed theory. Bohr had no problem in referring to the works of others as 'models', thus separating his theory from previous theories. He was interested in uncovering 'a little piece of reality'.

V. P. Milant’ev

The history of the creation and development of Bohr's atomic theory is discussed. Even now, with a consistent quantum theory available, Bohr's theory is not simply the property of history, of methodological interest only. To this day, the ideas of the theory not only provide an excellent introduction to atomic physics, but are also used successfully in treating atomic Rydberg states, exotic atoms, etc.

Paul A. Flowers, Edward J. Neth, William R. Robinson +2 more

Wolfgang W. Osterhage