Rutherford’s Atomic Model and Continuous Emission Spectrum for Hydrogen

atomic-physicshistoryorbitals

When researching the flaws of Rutherford's atomic model, I get that one of them is that it predicts the electrons would spiral and collapse into the nucleus.

However, I don't understand the second flaw which says it can't explain the discrete emission spectrum of excited gases like hydrogen. Why doesn't Rutherford's model explain the discrete emission spectrum? Moreover, why does it predict a continuous spectrum instead?

Best Answer

You have sort of answered your own question.

That the electrons would spiral in toward the nucleus was shown by Maxwell, in that accelerating charged particles would emit radiation loosing their energy. That is the first problem, as you have pointed out. But this is also related to the second problem, in that this would lead to a continuous spectrum.

If an accelerating charged particle emits radiation continuously, then the detected emitted energy spectrum (of electrons accelerating around and toward the nucleus) would also have to be continuous. There are no discontinuous "jumps" on the way. The fixed energy orbits were later theorized (by Niels Bohr).

And experiment showed at the time a discrete spectrum for Hydrogen (and other elements), and this is why the Rutherford model could not explain discrete spectra, nor could it explain why electron orbits did not completely decay if they are continuously emitting radiation.

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