WOLFRAM|DEMONSTRATIONS PROJECT

Hydrogen Atom: Fine Structure of Energy Levels

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principal quantum number n
1
energy axis:
scale
0
shift
0
The energy levels of the hydrogen atom
(0)
E
, taking account only of the Coulomb interaction between the electron and proton, are shown on the left. Perturbed energy levels
(0)
E
+
(1)
E
, also including spin-orbit interaction and relativistic corrections, produce the so-called fine structure, as shown on the right.