A proposal is put forward for an estimate of the duration of a transition between atomic states. The proposal rests on the consideration that a resonance of the atomic electron with modes of the zero-point radiation field of Compton's frequency is at the core of the phenomenon. The theoretical result, given essentially by the expression (\alpha\omega_{ C})^{ -1}, where \alpha is the fine structure constant and \omega_{ C} the Compton angular frequency for the electron, lies well within the range of the recently experimentally estimated values of the order of attoseconds (10^{ -18} s).
Categories: quant-ph