Home Physics Atomic and Nuclear Physics Nucleus, Nuclear Reaction Taking into account the motion of the nucleu…
Physics Atomic and Nuclear Physics Nucleus, Nuclear Reaction Subjective Type
Published on: September 12, 2026

Taking into account the motion of the nucleus of a hydrogen atom, find the expressions for the electron’s binding energy in the ground state and for the Rydberg constant. How much (in percent) do the binding energy and the Rydberg constant, obtained without taking into account the motion of the nucleus, differ from the more accurate corresponding value of these quantities ?

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Step 1: The binding energy of an electron in a hydrogen atom is given by the formula:
$$ E_n = -\frac{13.6 \text{ eV}}{n^2} $$
where n is the principal quantum number. For the ground state (n=1), we find:
$$ E_1 = -13.6 \text{ eV} $$

Step 2: The Rydberg constant can be expressed as:
$$ R_H = \frac{m_e e^4}{8\epsilon_0^2 h^3} $$
Furthermore, if we include the motion of the nucleus, this constant is modified slightly:
$$ R_H' = R_H \left(1 + \frac{m_e}{m_p} \right) $$
where m_e is the electron mass and m_p is the proton mass. The Rydberg constant without correcting for nuclear motion gives:
$$ R_H = 1.097 \times 10^7 \, \text{m}^{-1}. $$

Step 3: Calculating the percent difference for both quantities:
For binding energy: The difference is negligible for this case since nuclear motion does not significantly affect the electron binding energy in hydrogen-like atoms. For the Rydberg constant:
The corrected value is:
$$ R_H' = R_H \left(1 + \frac{m_e}{m_p} \right) \approx R_H \left(1 + 0.00054 \right) $$
Thus, the percentage difference in the Rydberg constant is about:
$$ \Delta R_H = \frac{R_H' - R_H}{R_H} \times 100\% = 0.054\% $$
Step 4: Conclusion: The binding energy modification is negligible, while the Rydberg constant is adjusted by approximately 0.054%. Therefore, compared to more accurate values, the calculations using classical mechanics show that discrepancies exist primarily in the Rydberg constant.

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