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Zeeman

Zeeman is most commonly associated with Pieter Zeeman (1865–1943), a Dutch physicist who conducted experiments on the interaction of light with magnetic fields. In 1896 he observed that spectral lines split when emitted light passed through a strong magnetic field, an effect now known as the Zeeman effect. The result provided important support for the concept of quantized angular momentum and the role of magnetic interactions in atomic structure.

The Zeeman effect refers to the splitting of atomic emission or absorption lines in the presence of

In 1902, Pieter Zeeman and Hendrik Lorentz were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their combined

a
static
magnetic
field.
In
the
normal
Zeeman
effect,
simple
transitions
produce
a
triplet
of
lines
with
equal
spacing.
The
anomalous
Zeeman
effect,
observed
in
more
complex
cases,
reveals
additional
components
due
to
electron
spin
and
spin–orbit
coupling.
The
energy
shifts
are
described
by
ΔE
=
m_j
g_j
μ_B
B,
where
m_j
is
the
magnetic
quantum
number,
g_j
the
Landé
factor,
μ_B
the
Bohr
magneton,
and
B
the
magnetic
field
strength.
work
on
the
influence
of
magnetism
on
light
and
the
experimental
discovery
of
the
Zeeman
effect.
The
phenomenon
provided
key
evidence
for
quantum
concepts
in
atomic
structure
and
has
become
a
fundamental
tool
in
spectroscopy
and
astrophysics,
enabling
measurements
of
magnetic
fields
in
laboratory
plasmas,
sunspots,
and
other
astronomical
sources.
The
Zeeman
effect
remains
a
foundational
concept
in
quantum
mechanics
and
the
study
of
atomic
and
molecular
structure.