An undergraduate experiment to determine the hyperfine structure of the 7 3S1 → 6 3P2 transitions in Hg

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An undergraduate physics experiment is described that uses a Fabry–Perot etalon and digital camera to determine the hyperfine frequency shifts in naturally occurring mercury. Radiation at 546 nm emitted from the 7 3S1 state relaxing to the 6 3P2 state in a low pressure Hg lamp is selected by an interference filter to pass through the etalon. This produces a series of concentric rings at the focus of the camera lens that are analyzed using bespoke software written for this experiment. Results from the analysis are compared to theoretical calculations of the hyperfine shifts for both the 199Hg and 201Hg isotopes.