ABSTRACT
Rutherford thought to explore the structure of matter by bombarding thin sheets of metals with alpha particles. According to Bohr, the mechanism of emission of e.m. wave is represented by the downward vertical lines connecting states at different n. The two main successes are: explanation of Rydberg formula and expression of Rydberg empirical constant in terms of fundamental constants and the calculation of the size of the atom in agreement with measurements. The remarkable fact that de Broglie hypothesis of pilot waves, when applied to the hydrogen atom, gives excellent agreement with Bohr's theory seems to give foundation that the matter-wave duality is a characteristic of elementary particles like the electrons. Shortly after de Broglie suggestion an experimental verification of de Broglie ideas was successfully attempted. Davisson and Germer needed to choose a crystal whose spacing was such that, under a reasonable acceleration voltage of the electrons, the de Broglie wavelength would be of the order of the lattice spacing.
