Is the Lorentz force quantized at the atomic level?

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The Lorentz force does occur at the atomic level, but it is not quantized in the same way that orbital energies are. In a hydrogen atom within a uniform magnetic field, the Lorentz force affects the electron's orbit, either pulling it closer or pushing it farther from the nucleus depending on the direction of the orbit. While the force itself is continuous, the orbital energies of the electron are quantized. This interaction with the magnetic field results in the splitting of these quantized energies, observable as the Zeeman effect in spectral lines. Thus, the Lorentz force influences atomic behavior without being quantized itself.
nuby
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Does the lorentz force occur at the atomic level?
 
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Does it have a quantized unit?
 
nuby said:
Does it have a quantized unit?
What do you mean by quantized unit? If you asking about the quantum version of the Lorentz force, it is treated just as any other force in quantum theory.

You can begin with a quantum particle in a classical electromagnetic field.

Say take a Hydrogen atom in a uniform magnetic field. There is the Coulomb force pulling the electron toward the nucleus. If the electron orbits one way round then the Lorentz force will pull it a bit closer to the atom, if it orbits the other way around then the Lorentz force will pull the electron a bit farther from the atom.

The force isn't quantized but the orbital energies of the electron are.

What happens then is that the magnetic field splits the quantized orbital energies. You see this manifest as line splitting in the spectrum aka the Zeeman effect.
 
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