What new information was included in Niels Bohr's initial atomic model?

Answer 1

In the Rutherford Model of the atom -- electrons circling a nucleus like planets around a sun -- an electron could be any distance from the nucleus, just like a planet could be any distance from a star.

The Bohr Model of an atom held that there are fixed distances between the nucleus and the orbital (NOT orbit) of the electron, and that these distances are restricted to multiples of a distance soon called the Bohr Radius (BR). Thus, an electron could be 1 BR from a nucleus, or 2 BR from a nucleus, or 7 BR from a nucleus; but its distance could NOT be half a BR or 1.7 BR or 3.827924 BR

Bohr also assumed that the narrow wavelengths of light energy from atoms was NOT the result of electrons vibrating in specific modes (like air molecules in a pipe), but instead was photons coming off when an electron went from a higher energy orbital to a lower one.

Making this assumption made calculating the wavelength of the Balmer Series in hydrogen trivial; prior to this assumption, doing so was impossible despite innumerable attempts to do so.

Answer 2

Niels Bohr's initial atomic model introduced the concept of energy levels or shells, where electrons could orbit the nucleus at specific distances. He also proposed that electrons could only exist in certain discrete energy states, and that they could jump between these states by absorbing or releasing energy. This model provided a better explanation for the stability of atoms and the emission and absorption of light at specific wavelengths.