Lamb-shift source

Lamb-shift source

[′lam ‚shift ‚sȯrs] (nucleonics) A device for producing a beam of polarized ions from one-electron atoms in their 2 s excited state; the 2 s and 2 p levels, initially separated by the Lamb shift, are mixed by magnetic and electric fields, and selected nuclear magnetic substrates are then depopulated, leaving the remaining atoms in a state with large nuclear polarization.