Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2016/ib/paper-3/16b/b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ib Paper 3 16B b Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
The agreement is in the energy levels, not in electron trajectories. The Bohr model assumes a particle on a circular orbit, with orbital angular momentum quantized as . The Coulomb bound states here are spatially distributed wavefunctions with no definite classical orbit. Their probability density is spherically symmetric, and their orbital angular momentum is zero because . Their radial distributions also depend on and can have nodes. A real radial wavefunction times a global stationary phase has zero probability current, unlike the circulating point charge in the Bohr picture.
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