What Makes the Normal and Anormal Zeeman Effects Distinct?

ASMR
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
There are two types of zeeman effect, one normal and the other one anormal, but why are they called so?
I mean what is so normal about the normal zeeman effect and what is so anormal about the anormal zeeman effect??
 
Physics news on Phys.org
The terms "normal" and "anomalous" Zeeman effects are historical artifacts.

The Zeeman effect was originally predicted or explained by using only orbital angular momentum, before electron spin was discovered. Some atoms' spectra actually do agree with these predictions, and they were called the "normal Zeeman effect." Others (actually the majority, I think) do not agree, and they were called the "anomalous Zeeman effect."

Then electron spin was discovered. It allowed for explaining both forms of the Zeeman effect in a natural way.

So the "anomalous" Zeeman effect is actually perfectly normal, and the "normal" Zeeman effect is actually somewhat anomalous! :smile:
 
Plz tell me good books on atomic physics. My syllabus is atomic spectrum, vector atom model, many electron model, molecular spectroscopy, laser physics. Plz reply quick. It's very urgent.
 
eisberg & resnick may help you
 
Thank you. I will surely try for it.
 
Does this book contains laser physics?
 

Similar threads

Back
Top