ABSTRACT
Discovered by P. Zeeman and his teacher, H. Lorentz, and based on studies of the Kerr effect, when a source of light is placed in a strong magnetic field, the components of the spectrum are polarized, with the directions of polarization and the appearance of the effect depending on the direction from which the source is viewed relative to the lines of force. Zeeman's work concentrated on the light source. In a very strong magnetic field, the result is known as the Paschen-Back effect (1921). The work of P. Zeeman is often considered to be the third magneto-optic effect to be discovered, following M. Faraday (1846) and J. Kerr (1875).
