If Bohr’s quantisation postulate (angular momentum = nh/2π) is a basic law of nature, it should be equally valid for the case of planetary motion also. Why then do we never speak of quantisation of orbits of planets around the sun?

Question

Philoid · Accepted Answer

The angular momentum associated with planetary motion is large relative to the Planck’s constant. As the angular momentum of Earth in its orbit is of order of 1070 h which results in higher value of quantum level of order of 1070. The more is the value of n, the less will be the angular momentum and energies. Therefore, the quantum levels of planetary motion are considered as continuous.