Chapter 9
Energy Bands in Solids
9.1 INTRODUCTION
Isolated atoms have discrete energy levels. A familiar example is the hydrogen atom, first explained by Niels Bohr in 1913. The energy level diagram of a hydrogen atom has been shown in Figure 9.1.
Figure 9.1 Energy level diagram of a hydrogen atom
When two atoms combine to form a diatomic molecule, each level of the individual atom is split into two close levels. If three atoms combine to form a triatomic molecule, each level of the isolated atom is split into three close levels. To make the picture clearer, energy levels of a hydrogen atom, a diatomic hydrogen molecule, and an imaginary ...
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