Chemistry / Unit 5 Chem 0799 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Bohr Model's Valid Domain
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The idea
The Bohr model correctly predicts hydrogen's line spectrum and other single-electron ions' spectra but fails for any atom with two or more electrons.
In practice
Applying Bohr's method to helium fails to reproduce helium's measured spectrum, unlike hydrogen's close match.
Where people slip
The Bohr model's single-electron success does not extend to multi-electron atoms — its orbits are not a general-purpose atomic model.
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