The effect is a two-stage process, in which first an atom is polarized by an electric field, and then the resulting dipole moment is acted on by the field.
This effect is especially useful in determining molecular rotational spectra, though it is also sometimes used in analysis of atomic spectra, and on a larger scale, it is used to indicate pressure in a stellar atmosphere. The effect is a two-stage process, in which first an atom is polarized by an electric field, and then the resulting dipole moment is acted on by the field. The result is a series of symmetrically spaced components of spectral lines, some with the electric vector parallel to the field, and the rest perpendicular. Named for its German discoverer, this is, for ten points, what electric analog to the Zeeman Effect.
This effect is especially useful in determining molecular rotational spectra, though it is also sometimes used in analysis of atomic spectra, and on a larger scale, it is used to indicate pressure in a stellar atmosphere.
{Stark} Effect