Atomic physics although they could be described and classified by their properties (in bulk). The invention of the periodic system of elements by Mendeleev was another great step forward. The true beginning of atomic physics is marked by the discovery of spectral lines and attempts to describe the phenomenon, most notably by Joseph von Fraunhofer. The study of these lines led to the Bohr atom model and to the birth of quantum mechanics. In seeking to explain atomic spectra an entirely new mathematical model of matter was revealed. As far as atoms and their electron shells were concerned, not only did this
Radiation length beyond leptons and photons, the presence of the stronger hadronic and nuclear interaction makes it a far less interesting characterisation of the material; the nuclear collision length and nuclear interaction length are more relevant. Comprehensive tables for radiation lengths and other properties of materials are available from the Particle Data Group Radiation length In physics, the radiation length is a characteristic of a material, related to the energy loss of high energy particles electromagnetically interacting with it. In materials of high atomic number (e.g. W, U, Pu) the electrons of energies >~10 MeV predominantly lose energy by bremsstrahlung, and high-energy