zeeman
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Proper noun A surname, most famously that of Pieter Zeeman, a Dutch physicist. In scientific contexts, it primarily refers to the Zeeman effect, a phenomenon in physics named after him.
Usage
The word "Zeeman" is used almost exclusively as a proper noun. * It is used to refer to the physicist Pieter Zeeman. * The Nobel Prize in Physics 1902 was awarded jointly to Zeeman and Lorentz. * It is used in the compound term "Zeeman effect" to name the physical phenomenon he discovered. * The splitting of spectral lines in a magnetic field is known as the Zeeman effect.
Advanced Usage
- The Zeeman Effect: The splitting of a single spectral line into several components when the light source is placed in a magnetic field. This is a key piece of evidence for the quantization of angular momentum in atoms.
- Astronomers use the Zeeman effect to measure the magnetic field strength of stars.
Variants and Related Words
- Zeeman splitting (n): Another term for the observed separation of spectral lines due to the Zeeman effect.
- Anomalous Zeeman effect: A more complex pattern of splitting that occurs in many atoms, which quantum mechanics successfully explains.
- Normal Zeeman effect: The simpler pattern of splitting observed in atoms with zero total spin angular momentum.
Synonyms
There are no direct synonyms for the proper noun "Zeeman." In the context of his discovery, one can use the descriptive phrase: * The magnetic splitting of spectral lines.
Related Phrases and Compounds
- Zeeman slower (n): A scientific apparatus that uses the Zeeman effect to slow down atoms for cooling and trapping experiments.
- The experiment required a Zeeman slower to prepare the atomic sample.
Noun
- Dutch physicist honored for his research on the influence of magnetism on radiation which showed that light is radiated by the motion of charged particles in an atom (1865-1943)