Fine Structure Constant is Related to Effective Nuclear Charge and Bohr’s Radius for Any Atom

Objectives: The objectives of this research were to show that fine structure constant (a) is an intrinsic property of any matter (element) and 2) to relate it to other physical property of elements such as Bohr’s radius of any element and effective nuclear charge.

Methods: The method is essentially theoretical which entailed the substitution of experimental data, ionization energy into derived equations in order to verify the universality of a as an intrinsic property of elemental matter.

Results: The results for hydrogen showed that the effective nuclear charge, Zeff (@ 1) and Bohr’s radius obtained by calculation after substituting appropriate average ionization energy into different equations were very similar. The results for other elements that are non-hydrogenic showed similar similarity of values regardless of the equation used. : Where the principal quantum number, n³1, EI is the average ionization energy of any element, and me is the mass of an electron.

Conclusion: The fine structure constant is an intrinsic property of matter. There is a relationship between the fine structure constant and well known periodic properties of elemental matter, effective nuclear charge, average ionization energy, and Bohr’s radius for any atom, other than hydrogenic atoms.