A Mode Budget for the Lamb Shift: How Much of the Shift Each Decade of Vacuum Fluctuations Supplies

The Lamb shift, the 1057.8 megahertz splitting between the 2S and 2P levels of hydrogen, is the textbook proof that vacuum fluctuations do physical work inside atoms. This paper apportions that work across energies. In a logarithmic budget running from the atomic scale of 13.6 electronvolts to the electron rest energy, one percent of the shift has accumulated only by 15.1 electronvolts and half only by 2.636e+03 electronvolts. The characteristic scale of the vacuum density that survives gravitational accounting, 2.240 milli-electronvolts as derived in the accompanying script, falls below the bottom of the budget entirely. The conclusion is plain: the Lamb shift certifies vacuum fluctuations across electronvolt-to-kiloelectronvolt energies, and it is silent about the milli-electronvolt remainder that gravitation appears to register. The apportionment is computed from a stated logarithmic model, not measured.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2026-11-11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24142464
Primary Topic
Quantum Electrodynamics and Casimir Effect
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

A Mode Budget for the Lamb Shift: How Much of the Shift Each Decade of Vacuum Fluctuations Supplies

William Alexander Aldred
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Quantum Electrodynamics and Casimir Effect
article

A Mode Budget for the Lamb Shift: How Much of the Shift Each Decade of Vacuum Fluctuations Supplies

William Alexander Aldred
article en

Abstract

The Lamb shift, the 1057.8 megahertz splitting between the 2S and 2P levels of hydrogen, is the textbook proof that vacuum fluctuations do physical work inside atoms. This paper apportions that work across energies. In a logarithmic budget running from the atomic scale of 13.6 electronvolts to the electron rest energy, one percent of the shift has accumulated only by 15.1 electronvolts and half only by 2.636e+03 electronvolts. The characteristic scale of the vacuum density that survives gravitational accounting, 2.240 milli-electronvolts as derived in the accompanying script, falls below the bottom of the budget entirely. The conclusion is plain: the Lamb shift certifies vacuum fluctuations across electronvolt-to-kiloelectronvolt energies, and it is silent about the milli-electronvolt remainder that gravitation appears to register. The apportionment is computed from a stated logarithmic model, not measured.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Quantum Electrodynamics and Casimir Effect
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A Mode Budget for the Lamb Shift: How Much of the Shift Each Decade of Vacuum Fluctuations Supplies — William Alexander Aldred · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS