“Sommerfeld's fine-structure theory was generally considered to be excellently and unambiguously confirmed by experiment. Because the theory rested on the foundation provided by Bohr, the experiments were also taken as strong support for his theory of atomic structure.” History Of ScienceFine Structure ConstantHistory Of Physics Book:Niels Bohr and the Quantum Atom: The Bohr Model of Atomic Structure 1913-1925 Source: Niels Bohr and the Quantum Atom: The Bohr Model of Atomic Structure 1913-1925
“Following the path of earlier unificationists, one of Eddington's aims was to reduce the contingencies in the description of nature, for example, by explaining the fundamental constants of physics rather than accepting them as merely experimental data. One of these constants was the fine-structure constant ..., which entered prominently in Dirac's theory and was known to be about 1/137.” PhysicsHistory Of ScienceFine Structure ConstantEddington Book:Quantum Generations: A History of Physics in the Twentieth Century Source: Quantum Generations: A History of Physics in the Twentieth Century