Why energy of an electron in atom is quantised?
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When we say that energy is quantized, it means that energy emitted from an atom can only exist in very specific quantities. Because the energy has only specific values, packets of energy are called a quanta.
Here's a hypothetical analogy. Imagine a ladder standing against a wall. Now imagine a mouse on a step of the ladder. This is a special mouse which can instantly teleport to any rung on the ladder but otherwise can't move. The mouse can only exist in very specific heights because he can't exist between two steps. Therefore, the mouse can only have specific gravitational potential energies.
This is how an atom is set up. Electrons exist on specific energy levels and cannot exist in between them. When an electron moves to another energy level, it must release or absorb very specific amounts of energy. This is what quantized means: the amount of energy absorbed or released can only be specific quantities called quanta.
Here's a hypothetical analogy. Imagine a ladder standing against a wall. Now imagine a mouse on a step of the ladder. This is a special mouse which can instantly teleport to any rung on the ladder but otherwise can't move. The mouse can only exist in very specific heights because he can't exist between two steps. Therefore, the mouse can only have specific gravitational potential energies.
This is how an atom is set up. Electrons exist on specific energy levels and cannot exist in between them. When an electron moves to another energy level, it must release or absorb very specific amounts of energy. This is what quantized means: the amount of energy absorbed or released can only be specific quantities called quanta.
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