The historical role of the Adiabatic Principle in Bohr's quantum theory

It is widely known that both the Correspondence Principle and the Adiabatic Principle were the two pillars of Bohr's quantum theory. However, the Correspondence Principle usually gets much more attention in historical accounts. A closer look at Bohr's quantum theory shows that, although th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annalen der Physik 2016-08, Vol.528 (7-8), p.530-534
Main Authors: Valls, Blai Pié i, Pérez, Enric
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adiabatic flow
Pillars
Quantum theory
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Summary:It is widely known that both the Correspondence Principle and the Adiabatic Principle were the two pillars of Bohr's quantum theory. However, the Correspondence Principle usually gets much more attention in historical accounts. A closer look at Bohr's quantum theory shows that, although the fate of the Adiabatic Principle was closely tied up with the validity of mechanics, it also played a significant role in the old quantum theory. In the early 1920s, when dealing with multielectron atoms, Bohr was forced to reshape the theory and thus to reconsider the relative relevance of the two principles. It is precisely the late preponderance of the Correspondence Principle which has, in perspective, biased the historical weight attributed to each of them.
ISSN:0003-3804
1521-3889
DOI:10.1002/andp.201600178