Zeeman effect

Spectral line splitting in magnetic field

The Zeeman effect (Dutch: [ˈzeːmɑn]) is the splitting of a spectral line into several components in the presence of a static magnetic field. It is caused by the interaction of the magnetic field with the magnetic moments of the atomic electrons associated with their orbital motion and spin; this interaction shifts some orbital energies more than others, resulting in the split spectrum. The effect is named after the Dutch physicist Pieter Zeeman, who discovered it in 1896 and received the Nobel Prize in Physics for it in 1902.

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