of one of the lines of unknown origin in the table quoted by Nicholson. In this table, however, no lines occur corresponding to
.
For the permanent state of a lithium atom with two positive charges we get a configuration
The probability of a permanent configuration in which two electrons move in different orbits around each other must for lithium be considered still less probable than for helium, as the ratio between the radii of the orbits would be still nearer to unity. For a lithium atom with a single positive charge we shall, therefore, adopt the configuration:
Since
