Paschen-Back effect

American

[pah-shuhn-bahk] / ˈpɑ ʃənˈbɑk /

noun

Physics.

a splitting of spectral lines observed when the source of a radiation is subjected to a strong magnetic field, caused when the vectors associated with the spin and orbital angular momentum exhibit individual rather than common precession.

1920–25; named after Friedrich Paschen (1865–1947) and Ernst Back (1881–1959), German physicists

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023