Classical view of the Stark effect in hydrogen atoms

Abstract

The unique properties of the hydrogen atom, especially those that result from the dynamic symmetry of the 1/r potential, are presented from both classical and quantal points of view. Using these properties as a starting point, the response of a classical hydrogen atom, an electron executing a Keplerian ellipse about a proton, to a weak electric field is described. Because the field is weak, the elliptical orbit may be treated as a dynamical element itself, variations in its shape and orientation depicting the classical Stark effect. The behavior of this orbit is then correlated with the quantum mechanical description of the first-order Stark effect in hydrogen, a subject that is included in most introductory courses in quantum mechanics.