Abstract: This book discusses methods for using atomic and molecular beams for fundamental research in physics, chemistry, spectroscopy. Molecular scattering is discussed including interactions of atoms with surfaces and studies of chemical equilibrium. Theories and experiments on the interactions of nuclei with atomic and molecular fields and multi-pole expansions of the interactions are derived for both magnetic and electrostatic fields. Deflections of beams with inhomogeneous magnetic and electric fields provide focusing for molecular beams, and also methods for measuring nuclear, atomic, and molecular magnetic moments. Much more accurate measurements are possible with the magnetic resonance method invented by Rabi and improved by Ramsey. Many different radio-frequency and microwave spectroscopy experiments with these methods are described and tables of results are given for nuclear and atomic moments and for atomic hyperfine separations. The theories of nuclear interactions in molecules are described and measured. These measurements have had a tremendous impact on fundamental quantum theory by showing that the deuteron was not spherical and that the electron magnetic moment differed from the prediction of the Dirac theory, which had to be supplemented by quantum electrodynamics (QED). The final chapters describe molecular beam design principles and apparatus and construction techniques.

Keywords: atomic, nuclear, resonance methods, magnetic, moments, QED