How did Zeeman's experiments confirm electron theory?
My work on the splitting of spectral lines in a magnetic field, the Zeeman effect, provided crucial experimental validation for the nascent electron theory. The observed splitting patterns were precisely what would be predicted if charged particles – later identified as electrons – were responsible for the emission of light and if their motion was influenced by an external magnetic field. The magnitude of the splitting allowed for the calculation of the charge-to-mass ratio of these presumed particles, aligning remarkably with early estimates of the electron's properties.
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