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fine structure

[fahyn]

noun Physics.

a group of lines that are observed in the spectra of certain elements, as hydrogen, and that are caused by various couplings of the azimuthal quantum number and the angular momentum quantum number.

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Nearby words

  1. fine gael,
  2. fine kettle of fish,
  3. fine leg,
  4. fine nail,
  5. fine print,
  6. fine tune,
  7. fine-comb,
  8. fine-cut,
  9. fine-draw,
  10. fine-drawn
Compare hyperfine structure.

Origin of fine structure

First recorded in 1915–20
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for fine structure

fine structure

noun

the splitting of a spectral line into two or more closely spaced components as a result of interaction between the spin and orbital angular momenta of the atomic electronsCompare hyperfine structure
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012