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The Uncertain Limits Between Classical and Quantum Physics: Optical Dispersion and Bohr's Atomic Model
Author(s) -
Jordi Taltavull Marta
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
annalen der physik
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.009
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1521-3889
pISSN - 0003-3804
DOI - 10.1002/andp.201800104
Subject(s) - bohr model , physics , context (archaeology) , classical physics , quantum , quantum mechanics , theoretical physics , macroscopic quantum phenomena , quantum chaos , dispersion (optics) , black body radiation , classical mechanics , quantum dynamics , radiation , paleontology , biology
It is commonplace to recount the history of quantum physics on the basis of phenomena that have found no satisfactory explanation in the context of so‐called classical physics. This is the case of, for example, blackbody radiation, the photoelectric effect, specific heats, and series of spectral lines. This story goes in another direction: new knowledge about quantum physics not only emerged from the need to explain new phenomena that conflicted with old theoretical structures, but also from the attempts to provide a quantum explanation of phenomena, like optical dispersion, which for a long time had found a very convincing explanation in old physical models, such as the resonance model. The boundary between classical and quantum domains of knowledge was not fixed a priori, but historically negotiated in the context of specific problems, including the problem of optical dispersion.