Skip to main content
hyperfine

hyperfine

1 9.9
Very small splits in lines of light caused by tiny effects inside atoms
  • adjective
  • /ˈhaɪpərˌfaɪn/
  • Specialized
: hiperfino
  • The hyperfine interaction leads to the gradual polarization of the nuclear spin through the Overhauser effect.
  • hyperfine transitions

Why is there a hyperfine structure in the energy levels of the orbitals of electrons and so forth.

Examples

  • The hyperfine interaction, however, required a relativistic treatment, and it spurred the development of relativistic quantum electrodynamics by Schwinger, Richard Feynman, Sin-itiro Tomonaga, and others.

    Academic text (1993)
  • In 1967, the international time standard for the second was defined in terms of the hyperfine frequency of the cesium atom.

    Academic text (1993)
  • In a weak field it is the hyperfine structure which dominates.

  • Those experiments consider two kinds of transition: electronic transitions, in which the spatial wavefunctions of electrons change, and hyperfine transitions during which only the total spin of the electron and nucleus changes.

    Academic text (2004)
  • The hyperfine frequency of the cesium atom is crucial for accurate timekeeping in atomic clocks.

  • Researchers studied the hyperfine structure to understand the interactions within atoms more precisely.

  • The hyperfine interactions in molecules can reveal important information about their internal states.

Synonyms

superfine
vshyperfine
2 5.3

Very high quality and delicate, often used for cloth or food

is a technical term for narrowly split spectral features from atomic interactions
ultrafine
vshyperfine
1 5.2

Something that is very small, like tiny particles or thin fibers

refers to narrow spectral component splitting rather than general small physical size
extrafine
vshyperfine
1 4.2

Very smooth and high quality, like fine wool

is specifically about narrow spectral splitting caused by internal atomic effects

How Narrow

hyperfine
  • Specialized
1 9.9
fine
197 5.3
narrow
279 1.0
broad
106 1.0

Surface Forms

hyperfine positive

Morphology

hyperfine = fine (semi-transparent) = hyper + fine

The word is built transparently from 'hyper-' plus 'fine', but the sense is specialized to atomic and molecular physics.

Etymology

Hyperfine comes from the Greek prefix hyper- meaning 'very' or 'over', as in hyperactive, and the word fine meaning 'thin' or 'very small'. So hyperfine means 'very small' or 'extremely fine', which is why scientists use it for tiny splittings or very small parts of a spectral line.