Ground-State Energy of the Lithium Atom and Lithium-Like Atoms Using the Bohr Theory

TCE

The Chemical Educator

ISSN: 1430-4171 (electronic version)

Table of Contents

Abstract Volume 11 Issue 5 (2006) pp 333-334

Ground-State Energy of the Lithium Atom and Lithium-Like Atoms Using the Bohr Theory

Abolghassem Saleh-Jahromi

Department of Physics, College of Science and Engineering, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA 90045-8227, asalehja@lmu.edu
Received May 22, 2006. Accepted July 20, 2006.

Published online: 9 August 2006

Abstract. A justification of Bohr’s postulates can be performed by comparing the predictions that can be derived from the postulates with the results of experiment. The ground-state energy of the helium atom and the helium-like ions Li⁺, Be²⁺, … have been calculated by B. Bagchi and Paul Holody [1]. In this paper we derive some predictions about the lithium atom and the lithium-like ions Be⁺, B²⁺, … using the Bohr theory. The agreement between this method, a quantum mechanical method, and the experimental results are excellent.

Key Words: In the Classroom; physical chemistry; quantum mechanics

(*) Corresponding author. (E-mail: asalehja@lmu.edu)

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