A short history of the early scientific developments related to the optical emission lines of hydrogen is presented. These were crucial to the development of the quantum theory. Balmer's empirical formula was an important milestone. Rydberg and others provided additional work, especially for higher atomic numbers. However, it remained for Bohr to provide the physical reasoning. Nov 1, 2008 By:
Volker Thomsen
A short history of the early scientific developments related to the optical emission lines of hydrogen is presented. These were crucial to the development of the quantum theory. Balmer's empirical formula was an important milestone. Rydberg and others provided additional work, especially for higher atomic numbers. However, it remained for Bohr to provide the physical reasoning.
Columnist David W. Ball discusses the pioneering work of Erwin Schrodinger, whose work on wave mechanics forms the basis of the modern understanding of subatomic behavior.
