The Uncertain Limits Between Classical and Quantum Physics: Optical Dispersion and Bohr's Atomic Model

Abstract

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.