Bohr atom

[bawr at-uhm]

noun

Physics.

1. Bohr model

Bohr atom

1. The simplest modern picture of the structure of the atom, according to which electrons move in orbits around the nucleus. The electron's orbits can exist only at certain well-defined distances from the nucleus. When an electron changes orbits, it does so in a sudden quantum leap. The energy difference between the initial and final orbit is emitted by the atom in bundles of electromagnetic radiation called photons.

The Bohr atom is named after the twentieth-century Danish physicist Niels Bohr.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Bohr atom¹

First recorded in 1920–25; named after Danish physicist Niels Bohr

Example Sentences

Franklin Delano Roosevelt didn’t argue the merits of the Bohr atom with Oppenheimer when he wrote to him 1943.

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Instead of the Bohr atom with its positive nucleus, Dr. Lewis claimed that the electrons, though having orbits, do not revolve around the "kernel" of the atom.

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"They got as far as the Bohr atom, anyhow," he said.

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