[1] The model was developed by Isaac Held and Arthur Hou in 1980.
[2] The essence of the model is that air rising from the surface at the equator conserves its angular momentum as it moves poleward.
This distribution of wind, in turn, determines the distribution of temperature, which determines the latitudinal extent of the circulation by requiring energy conservation.
This stands in contrast to George Hadley's original conception of the circulation, which he argued reached the poles.
Earth's atmosphere violates the underlying assumptions of the model: angular momentum is not conserved and the tropical atmosphere is not energetically closed.