, and are independent of the eccentricity of the orbit. By varying
we may obtain all possible values for
and
. This condition shows, however, that it is not possible to employ the above formulae directly in calculating the orbit of the electron in a hydrogen atom. For this it will be necessary to assume that the orbit of the electron cannot take on all values, and in any event, the line spectrum clearly indicates that the oscillations of the electron cannot vary continuously between wide limits. The impossibility of making any progress with a simple system like the one considered here might have been foretold from a consideration of the dimensions involved; for with the aid of
and
