Final answer:
The model that explains how atoms emit light due to electron movement is the Bohr model, proposed by Niels Bohr in 1913. This model describes electrons in discrete energy levels, with light being emitted when an electron transitions from a higher to a lower energy level, and each transition corresponds to a specific wavelength of light.
Step-by-step explanation:
Model for How Atoms Release Light
The model that explains how atoms release light due to the movement of electrons is the Bohr model of the atom. Contrary to the option provided (Newton's laws), it was Niels Bohr who, in 1913, developed a quantum model that correctly explained how an atom emits light. In the Bohr model, electrons exist within principal energy levels, also known as orbits or shells. An electron normally resides in the lowest energy level, closest to the nucleus, which is known as the ground state. When energy is absorbed, typically from a photon, the electron transitions to a higher energy level, an excited state. However, since these excited states are not stable, the electron will eventually return to the ground state, and in the process, it emits a photon of light.
The number of different wavelengths of light emitted by the atoms corresponds to the different possible transitions that electrons can make between energy levels. Each of these transitions emits light at a specific wavelength, thus resulting in an atomic emission spectrum that is characteristic for each element. In the case of hydrogen, the transitions to or from the first excited state (n = 2) produce the Balmer series, which includes lines visible in the optical spectrum.