What is fine structure in quantum mechanics?
Fine structure is produced when an atom emits light in making the transition from one energy state to another. The split lines, which are called the fine structure of the main lines, arise from the interaction of the orbital motion of an electron with the quantum mechanical “spin” of that electron.
What is Darwin term in fine structure?
The Darwin term changes potential energy of the electron. It can be interpreted as a smearing out of the electrostatic interaction between the electron and nucleus due to zitterbewegung, or rapid quantum oscillations, of the electron.
What do you mean by fine structure of hydrogen spectrum?
When the familiar red spectral line of the hydrogen spectrum is examined at very high resolution, it is found to be a closely-spaced doublet. This splitting is called fine structure and was one of the first experimental evidences for electron spin.
What is meant by fine structure and hyperfine structure?
The key difference between fine and hyperfine structure is that in fine structures, the line splitting is a result of the energy changes that are produced by electron spin-orbit coupling, whereas in hyperfine structures, the line splitting is a result of the interaction between the magnetic field and nuclear spin.
What is a fine spectrum?
The fine spectrum is defined as the splitting of spectrum into closely spaced lines. This is observed when H atom is placed in Electrical or Magnetic field.
How is the Lyman alpha line split due to fine structure?
Because of the spin–orbit interaction, the Lyman-alpha line splits into a fine-structure doublet with the wavelengths of 1215.668 and 1215.674 angstroms. These components are called Ly-α3/2 and Ly-α1/2, respectively.
What is meant by fine spectrum?
Who explained fine spectrum?
The fine structure in the spectral lines was first identified in 1887 by Michelson and Morley [4] yet it went unexplained by the Bohr model. Sommerfeld’s correction to the hydrogen atom was based on an analogy with Einstein’s [5] relativistic correction to Newton’s model of the solar system.
What is hyperfine structure in quantum physics?
hyperfine structure (HFS), in spectroscopy, the splitting of a spectral line into a number of components. The splitting is caused by nuclear effects and cannot be observed in an ordinary spectroscope without the aid of an optical device called an interferometer.
What causes hyperfine structure?
In atoms, hyperfine structure arises from the energy of the nuclear magnetic dipole moment interacting with the magnetic field generated by the electrons and the energy of the nuclear electric quadrupole moment in the electric field gradient due to the distribution of charge within the atom.
Why is 137 a magic number?
To physicists, 137 is the approximate denominator of the fine-structure constant (1/137.03599913), the measure of the strength of the electromagnetic force that controls how charged elementary particles such as the electron and muon interact with photons of light, according to the National Institute of Standards and …
What is the relationship between electron mass and fine-structure constant?
The value of the fine-structure constant α is linked to the observed value of this coupling associated with the energy scale of the electron mass: the electron is a lower bound for this energy scale, because it (and the positron) is the lightest charged object whose quantum loops can contribute to the running.
Is the fine structure constant 2 parts in 10 million?
A theoretical derivation of the fine structure constant, based on unification in a pre-spacetime, pre-quantum theory in eight octonionic dimensions, has recently been given by Singh. This article derives the following expression which agrees with the measured value to 2 parts in ten million.
What is the physical meaning of the fine structure constant α?
The first physical interpretation of the fine-structure constant α was as the ratio of the velocity of the electron in the first circular orbit of the relativistic Bohr atom to the speed of light in the vacuum.
Is the fine structure constant (e) of an electric field dimensionless?
but, distinct from e, the fine structure constant is defined to be dimensionless. Thus if e is measured in units of charge, the fine structure constant is defined as so as to be dimensionless.