Abstract
THOUGH the doublet structure of the Balmer lines has been known for sixty years, attempts at a more complete resolution of the fine structure have met with difficulties owing to the large Doppler width of the individual lines. In the α-line, a third component arising from the transitions 2S1/2–3P1/2 and 2P1/2– 3S1/2 was resolved by Williams1 in 1938, using a deuterium discharge tube in liquid air ; but the resolution was not complete enough to allow an accurate measurement of the positions of the components. From these results, Pasternack2 deduced a displacement of about 0·03 cm.-1 of the 2S1/2 level from its position given by Dirac‘s theory. This value was no more than a rough estimate, and only through the microwave experiments of Lamb and Retherford3 was the reality of the shift established.
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References
Williams, R. C., Phys. Rev., 54, 558 (1938).
Pasternack, S., Phys. Rev., 54, 1113 (1938).
Lamb, W. E., and Retherford, C., Phys. Rev., 72, 241 (1947).
Bethe, H. A., Phys. Rev., 72, 339 (1947).
Dyson, F. J., Phys. Rev., 73, 617 (1948).
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KUHN, H., SERIES, G. Fine Structure of the Hydrogen α-Line. Nature 162, 373 (1948). https://doi.org/10.1038/162373a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/162373a0
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