Note on the Magnetic Moment of the Nitrogen Nucleus

Abstract

Three lines of the group 2s2p^4^4P−2s^22p^24p^4D of N I have been examined for hyperfine structure. They were found to be single when examined with a Fabry-Perot interferometer, using a variety of plate separations. The line widths of two of the lines were measured. The absence of hyperfine structure is attributed to the small magnetic moment (μ) of the nitrogen nucleus. It is shown that, by using the results of Goudsmit, the measured line widths lead to an unusually low magnetic moment for the nitrogen nucleus, μ≦0.2(eh)/(4πMc). Under certain assumptions about the structure of the nitrogen nucleus, this low value of the magnetic moment leads to the conclusion that the neutron has a magnetic moment in the opposite direction from its mechanical moment and about one proton magneton in magnitude.