Zeeman effect [SEP] named after
Zeeman effect
The Zeeman effect (; ), named after the Dutch physicist Pieter Zeeman, is the effect of splitting of a spectral line into several components in the presence of a static magnetic field. It is analogous to the Stark effect, the splitting of a spectral line into several components in the presence of an electric field. Also similar to the Stark effect, transitions between different components have, in general, different intensities, with some being entirely forbidden (in the dipole approximation), as governed by the selection rules
effect thus became an important tool for elucidating the structure of the atom.
Professor in Amsterdam.
Shortly after his discovery, Zeeman was offered a position as lecturer in Amsterdam, where he started to work in Autumn of 1896. In 1900 this was followed by his promotion to professor of physics at the University of Amsterdam. In 1902, together with his former mentor Lorentz, he received the Nobel Prize for Physics for the discovery of the Zeeman effect. Five years later, in 1908, he succeeded Van der Waals