Pieter Zeeman
Pieter Zeeman
Pieter Zeemanwas a Dutch physicist who shared the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics with Hendrik Lorentz for his discovery of the Zeeman effect...
NationalityDutch
ProfessionPhysicist
Date of Birth25 May 1865
effect electron exposed field magnetic period soon
In the absence of a magnetic field the period of all these oscillations is the same. But as soon as the electron is exposed to the effect of a magnetic field, its motion changes.
behave lines natural soon splitting study succeeded
It was natural that, soon after I had succeeded in splitting up lines, I should also study how the different lines behave in this respect.
altering distorted disturbing held period succeeded therefore
Had we really succeeded therefore in altering the period of vibration, which Maxwell, as I have just noted, held to be impossible? Or was there some disturbing circumstances from one or more factors which distorted the result?
force found magnetic poles result source studied
We studied the light source in the direction of the magnetic force, we perforated the poles of the magnet; but even in the direction of the magnetic lines of force we found that our result was confirmed.
circular conceived electron movements split
Now all oscillatory movements of such an electron can be conceived of as being split up into force, and two circular oscillations perpendicular to this direction rotating in opposite directions.
extreme observing period predicted variations
I should point out, however, that at first some difficulty was experienced in observing the phenomena predicted by the theory, owing to the extreme smallness of the variations in the period of oscillation.
directly displaced electron pendulum
Now if this electron is displaced from its equilibrium position, a force that is directly proportional to the displacement restores it like a pendulum to its position of rest.
appear course kinds large light number restricted source various
Of course the light source must be very restricted for the large number of beams corresponding to the various kinds of light to appear separately.
beam compound follows instead light lined longer ordinary reflected special surface
A beam of compound light is no longer reflected by the lined surface in the ordinary way; instead each special kind of light follows its own path.
running moving law
According to well-known electrodynamic laws, an electron moving in a magnetic field is acted upon by a force which runs perpendicular to the direction of motion of the electron and to the direction of the magnetic field, and whose magnitude is easily determined.
light ideas mirrors
It was not simply out of a spirit of contradiction that I exposed a light source to magnetic forces. The idea came to me during an investigation of the effect discovered by Kerr on light reflected by magnetic mirrors.
rotation sodium vapour
The rotation of the polarization plane is extraordinarily small in all gases, thus also in sodium vapour.
exception-to-the-rule giving lines
Nature gives us all, including Prof. Lorentz, surprises. It was very quickly found that there are many exceptions to the rule of splitting of the lines only into triplets.
moving-on atoms lines
On the basis of Lorentz's theory, if we limit ourselves to a single spectral line, it suffices to assume that each atom (or molecule) contains a single moving electron.