Atomic physics yield a better overall description, i.e. the atomic orbital model, but it also provided a new theoretical basis for chemistry (quantum chemistry) and spectroscopy. Since the Second World War, both theoretical and experimental fields have advanced at a rapid pace. This can be attributed to progress in computing technology, which has allowed larger and more sophisticated models of atomic structure and associated collision processes. Similar technological advances in accelerators, detectors, magnetic field generation and lasers have greatly assisted experimental work. Atomic physics Atomic physics is the field of physics that studies atoms as an isolated system of electrons and an
Theoretical and experimental justification for the Schrödinger equation the clock in the observer frame. A wave-like picture of particles is thus consistent with special relativity. In fact, we now know that these relations can be succinctly written using special relativistic 4-vector notation: The relevant four-vectors are: The relations between the four-vectors are as follows: The phase of the wave is the relativistic invariant: The de Broglie hypothesis helped resolve outstanding issues in atomic physics. Classical physics was unable to explain the observed behaviour of electrons in atoms. Specifically, accelerating electrons emit electromagnetic radiation according to the Larmor formula. Electrons orbiting a nucleus should lose energy to radiation and