Fine-structure constant (nonfiction)

In physics, the fine-structure constant, also known as Sommerfeld's constant, commonly denoted by α (the Greek letter alpha), is a fundamental physical constant characterizing the strength of the electromagnetic interaction between elementary charged particles. It is a dimensionless quantity related to the elementary charge e, which characterizes the strength of the coupling of an elementary charged particle with the electromagnetic field, by the formula 4πε0ħcα = e2. As a dimensionless quantity, its numerical value, approximately

1 / 137 , is independent of the system of units used.

While there are multiple physical interpretations for α, it received its name from Arnold Sommerfeld introducing it (1916) in extending the Bohr model of the atom: α quantifies the gap in the fine structure of the spectral lines of the hydrogen atom, which had been precisely measured by Michelson and Morley.

Links

• Fine-structure constant @ Wikipedia