Electronic Energy Levels and Photons

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The Main Idea

Electrons can be excited by absorbing energy from photons. Electrons can only be excited to certain electronic energy levels. Each electronic energy level is a number that represents the sum of the kinetic and potential energy (K+U). Because the electronic potential energy between the positive protons in the nucleus and the surrounding negative electrons will always be negative, the value of K+U will me negative. Because electrons are only stable at those energy levels, an electron can only absorb certain quantized energies from photons. After the electron is excited, it drops down and releases a photon. It can drop to any energy level below it, and thus the resulting photons can be of several energies.

A Mathematical Model of the Bohr Hydrogen Atom

For example, the electronic energy levels for a hydrogen atom can be modeled by the equation: [math]\displaystyle{ {\frac{-13.6}{N^2}} = {K+U} }[/math] where N is the energy level. N=1 is the rest energy level; N=2 is the the first excited energy level; and N=3 is the second level, etc. This formula gives energy levels in terms of electron volts (eV).

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Hydrogen and its energy levels

A Computational Model

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