Ciro Santilli
OurBigBook.comWas the first model to explain the Balmer series, notably linking atomic spectra to the Planck constant and therefore to other initial quantum mechanical observations.
This was one of the first major models that just said:
I give up, I can't tie this to classical physics in any way, let's just roll with it, OK?
It still treats electrons as little points spinning around the nucleus, but it makes the non-classical postulate that only certain angular momentums (and therefore energies) are allowed.
Bibliography:
- Inward Bound by Abraham Pais (1988) Chapter 9.e Atomic structure and spectral lines - Niels Bohr
- The Quantum Story by Jim Baggott (2011) Chapter 3 A Little Bit of Reality