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Atomic physics (or atom physics) is physics of the electron hull of atoms.Lay people often associate the term atomic physics with nuclear power and nuclear bombs, obviously due to the synonymous use of atomic and nuclear in standard English. However, physcists distinguish between atomic physics (dealing with the effects of the electron hull and the nucleus's overall spin and electric charge) and nuclear physics (dealing with the forces within the atomic nuclei and reactions that alter, fuse or split them).
The beginning of atomic physics is marked by the discovery and scrutinious study of spectral lines. These are sharply defined lines in the spectrum of illuminated or (hot, hence ionized (see flame) and hence) light-emitting free atoms. ("Free" meaning that they are a gas or vapour and therefore not close to other atoms.)
The study of these lines led to the Bohr atom model and on to our present understanding of the electron hull of the atom as described by the orbital atom model which is the basis of all understanding of chemistry. These conclusion are however not at all straight-forward but rather required more than a century of research, which has succeeded on putting chemistry on a sound fundament but also gave rise to many other applications.
1 See also
- atomic clock: a typical application of atom physics
- quantum opticsQuantum optics is a field of research in physics, dealing with the application of quantum mechanics to phenomena involving light and its interactions with matter. History of Quantum Optics Light is made up of particles and hence inherently "grainy"; quant: a field that has lot of overlap with atom physics
- Zeeman effectThe Zeeman effect is the split of a spectral line into several components in the presence of a magnetic field. In most atoms, there exist several electronic configurations that have the same energy, so that transitions between different pairs of configura, Stark effectThe Stark effect is the splitting of a spectral line into several components in the presence of an electric field. It is analogous to the Zeeman effect where a spectral line is split into several components in the presence of a magnetic field. Discovered: important basic results of early atom physics
2 External link
Atomic physicsAtomic physics (or atom physics is physics of the electron hull of atoms. Lay people often associate the term atomic physics with nuclear power and nuclear bombs, obviously due to the synonymous use of atomic and nuclear in standard English. However, phys
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