Article ID: CBB001210781

The Isotope Effect: Prediction, Discussion, and Discovery (2012)

unapi

The precise position of a spectral line emitted by an atomic system depends on the mass of the atomic nucleus and is therefore different for isotopes belonging to the same element. The possible presence of an isotope effect followed from Bohr's atomic theory of 1913, but it took several years before it was confirmed experimentally. Its early history involves the childhood not only of the quantum atom, but also of the concept of isotopy. Bohr's prediction of the isotope effect was apparently at odds with early attempts to distinguish between isotopes by means of their optical spectra. However, in 1920 the effect was discovered in HCl molecules, which gave rise to a fruitful development in molecular spectroscopy. The first detection of an atomic isotope effect was no less important, as it was by this means that the heavy hydrogen isotope deuterium was discovered in 1932. The early development of isotope spectroscopy led to successes as well as problems. At the end of the paper I briefly comment on the relationship between theory, experiment and prediction in this area of spectral physics.

...More
Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001210781/

Similar Citations

Article Konno, Hiroyuki; (2002)
Ritz's Discovery of the Lyman Series before 1913 and Lyman's Indifference to the Bohr Theory (/isis/citation/CBB000340019/)

Book Nancy Cartwright; (2022)
A Philosopher Looks at Science (/isis/citation/CBB138531729/)

Article Hitchcock, Christopher; Sober, Elliott; (2004)
Prediction versus Accommodation and the Risk of Overfitting (/isis/citation/CBB000410745/)

Article Rayner-Canham, Marelene F.; Rayner-Canham, Geoffrey W.; (2000)
Stefanie Horovitz, Ellen Gleditsch, Ada Hitchins, and the Discovery of Isotopes (/isis/citation/CBB000740568/)

Article Guerra, Francesco; Robotti, Nadia; (2008)
Ettore Majorana's Forgotten Publication on the Thomas-Fermi Model (/isis/citation/CBB000932023/)

Article Leone, Matteo; Paoletti, Alessandro; Robotti, Nadia; (2004)
A Simultaneous Discovery: The Case of Johannes Stark and Antonino Lo Surdo (/isis/citation/CBB000641774/)

Article Kragh, Helge; (2010)
Auroral Chemistry: The Riddle of the Green Line (/isis/citation/CBB001232512/)

Article Lei Wang; Jian Yang; (2017)
Process and Impact of Niels Bohr's Visit to Japan and China in 1937: A Comparative Perspective (/isis/citation/CBB048164726/)

Book Angeloni, Roberto; (2013)
Unity and Continuity in Niels Bohr's Philosophy of Physics (/isis/citation/CBB001451180/)

Article Zeldes, Nissan; (2009)
Giulio Racah and Theoretical Physics in Jerusalem (/isis/citation/CBB000932079/)

Article Genin, Christophe; (2007)
Le Dosage Spectrométrique du Mercure dans l'Air vers 1930 (/isis/citation/CBB000773029/)

Article Sime, Ruth Lewin; (2000)
The search for transuranium elements and the discovery of nuclear fission (/isis/citation/CBB000110039/)

Article Helge Kragh; (2017)
‘Let the Stars Shine in Peace!’ Niels Bohr and Stellar Energy, 1929–1934 (/isis/citation/CBB299379530/)

Article Boyce, Kenneth; (2014)
On the Equivalence of Goodman's and Hempel's Paradoxes (/isis/citation/CBB001320769/)

Chapter Gissis, Snait B.; (2011)
Lamarckian Problematics in Historical Perspective (/isis/citation/CBB001500082/)

Article Eckert, Michael; (2014)
How Sommerfeld Extended Bohr's Model of the Atom (1913--1916) (/isis/citation/CBB001421692/)

Article Alain Ulazia; (2016)
The cognitive nexus between Bohr's analogy for the atom and Pauli's exclusion schema (/isis/citation/CBB864595237/)

Book Aaserud, Finn; Heilbron, J. L.; (2013)
Love, Literature and the Quantum Atom: Niels Bohr's 1913 Trilogy Revisited (/isis/citation/CBB001212962/)

Authors & Contributors
Robotti, Nadia
Kragh, Helge S.
Wang, Lei
Alain Ulazia
Zeldes, Nissan
Yoshihara, H. Kenji
Concepts
Atomic, nuclear, and particle physics
Spectroscopy
Physics
Philosophy of science
Theory (philosophy)
Chemistry
Time Periods
20th century, early
20th century, late
20th century
19th century
18th century
Places
Japan
China
Rome (Italy)
Israel
Comments

Be the first to comment!

{{ comment.created_by.username }} on {{ comment.created_on | date:'medium' }}

Log in or register to comment