A Saturnian atom.
In Bohr's original planetary model of the atom the electron moves along orbits of special geometric simplicity. While wave mechanics precludes the idea that a physical path could be ascribed to the electron, a classical or planetary atom can still be envisaged in which the electronic wavepacket neither spreads nor disperses as its center moves along the Kepler orbit, and this orbit is conned to a single plane in space. We show theoretically how an electronic wavepacket may be localized in this fashion in a similar way to ion confinement in a Penning trap. Because external fields are needed to keep the packet confined, a more fitting analogy than a planetary orbit is the motion of a charged dust grain in one of the rings of a giant planet such as Saturn.
Lee
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Farrelly
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Uzer
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