Observation of the Separation of Spectral Lines by an Electric Field

Abstract

THE effect of the electric field upon spectral lines is a problem which has caused much discussion without being solved by experiment until to-day. Applying a very intense electric field in an incandescent gas, and using suitable optical arrangements, I succeeded in separating several spectral lines into components. These are polarised rectilinearly in relation to the axis of the electric field in the transversal effect (radius of vision normal to the electric field). With the dispersion used, the hydrogen lines Hβ and Hγ are resolved by the electric field into five components. The three located in the middle are in electric oscillation normally to the electric field, the two outer ones parallel to it. My first paper on the new phenomenon will soon be published in the Berichte der Berliner Akademie der Wissenschaften.