A new theory says we can explain how hydrogen atoms act using old-school physics and the random energy hiding in empty space.
arXiv · March 17, 2026 · 2603.13448
The Takeaway
For a century, the stable orbits of electrons in hydrogen have been seen as proof of quantum mechanics. This study argues that if you account for the random 'zero-point' radiation in the vacuum, the atom's energy levels emerge naturally from classical laws without needing quantum wave functions.
From the abstract
Classical electrodynamics including classical electromagnetic zero-point radiation leads to a ground state and resonant excited states for a charged particle in a Coulomb potential. These resonant states correspond to integer values of the action variables analogous to those appearing in the Bohr-Sommerfeld theory of the hydrogen atom. The work on classical zero-point radiation reported here is a continuation of the analysis reported in 1975, but with the addition of the ideas of relativity and