Back

Hydrogen fine structure

What you are seeing: the relativistic + spin-orbit fine-structure correction splits hydrogen levels by total angular momentum jj rather than orbital \ell. The 2s/2p degeneracy of Bohr lifts: 2p3/2_{3/2} moves up, 2s1/2_{1/2} and 2p1/2_{1/2} stay degenerate (Lamb shift is excluded here, see Lamb playground).

Figure 1. Hydrogen Bohr levels (cyan) split into FS multiplets (orange).
n_max3
FS magnify3000

WHAT TO TRY

  • Vary each control and watch the rail readouts respond.
  • Compare the diagnostic plot against the live scene.