Question 10 — Both Rutherford's and Bohr's models - Questions at the end of the chapter - Chapter 8 - Journey Inside the Atom (Exploration)

Last updated at July 3, 2026 by

Question 10
Both Rutherford’s and Bohr’s models have electrons orbiting the nucleus. Why did Rutherford’s model fail to explain atomic stability, while Bohr’s model succeeded?
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  • Rutherford: an orbiting electron accelerates, should continuously lose energy , spiral in and make the atom collapse.
  • Bohr: introduced stationary states — in a fixed shell the electron’s energy stays constant , so it does not lose energy or spiral in.
  • Hence Bohr’s model explains the stability of the atom.
Rutherford versus Bohr Rutherford: orbiting electron loses energy Bohr: stationary state, energy constant So only Bohr explains stability
Back to: 8.2.3 Bohr’s model of the atom
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