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⚡ Stark Effect Lab

Explore how a static electric field splits and shifts atomic spectral lines, from the special linear splitting in hydrogen to the quadratic shifts seen in most other atoms.

Physics & Mechanics3DModerate60 FPS💧 Water ⚡ Plasma

The simulator demonstrates how an applied static electric field splits and shifts atomic energy levels and their corresponding spectral lines, contrasting the linear splitting unique to hydrogen with the quadratic splitting typical of most other atoms.

🔬 What It Demonstrates

🎮 How to Use

Adjust the electric field strength slider to see the atomic energy levels separate into sublevels in real time, switch between a hydrogen-like linear response and a generic quadratic response to compare the two regimes, and watch the corresponding spectral line display to see how the emitted wavelengths split and shift as the field increases.

💡 Did You Know?

Johannes Stark discovered this effect in 1913, and the confirmation that hydrogen's excited states split linearly with field strength, rather than quadratically like most atoms, became one of the earliest triumphs of quantum theory, since it directly reflected hydrogen's unique orbital degeneracy predicted by the emerging atomic models of the time.

⚙ Under the hood

Explore how a static electric field splits and shifts atomic spectral lines, from the special linear splitting in hydrogen to the quadratic shifts seen in most other atoms.

stark effectspectroscopyatomic physicselectric fieldenergy levelshydrogen atomplasma physicsquantum mechanics

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install