text: The first decade of the 20th century brought the basics of quantum theory (Planck, Einstein) and interpretation of spectral series of hydrogen by Lyman in VUV and by Paschen in infrared. Ritz formulated the combination principle.
  John William Nicholson had created an atomic model in 1912, a year before Niels Bohr, that was both nuclear and quantum in which he showed that electron oscillations in his atom matched the solar and nebular spectral lines. Bohr had been working on his atom during this period, but Bohr's model had only a single ground state and no spectra until he incorporated the Nicholson model and referenced the Nicholson papers in his model of the atom.
  In 1913, Bohr formulated his quantum mechanical model of atom. This stimulated empirical term analysis. Bohr published a theory of the hydrogen-like atoms that could explain the observed wavelengths of spectral lines due to electrons transitioning from different energy states. In 1937 "E. Lehrer created the first fully-automated spectrometer" to help more accurately measure spectral lines. With the development of more advanced instruments such as photo-detectors scientists were then able to more accurately measure specific wavelength absorption of substances.