I guess I'm referring to the theory of atoms as it was before QM came along. In the same way that newtonian mechanics is still useful even though its has been s

I guess I'm referring to the theory of atoms as it was before QM came along. In the same way that newtonian mechanics is still useful even though its has been superceded by relativity. If you're saying I 'have' to take QM along with my atoms, then you also have to take Relativity along with your QM, and at the moment they are irreconcilable. Until we have a 'theory of everything' its ok to use simpler models within boundaries