Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
By recording the attenuation of light for various wavelengths, an absorption spectrum can be obtained. In physics, absorption of electromagnetic radiation is how matter (typically electrons bound in atoms) takes up a photon's energy—and so transforms electromagnetic energy into internal energy of the absorber (for example, thermal energy). [1]
Molecules can also undergo transitions in their vibrational or rotational energy levels. Energy level transitions can also be nonradiative, meaning emission or absorption of a photon is not involved. If an atom, ion, or molecule is at the lowest possible energy level, it and its electrons are said to be in the ground state.
The principle of the atomic emission spectrum explains the varied colors in neon signs, as well as chemical flame test results (described below). The frequencies of light that an atom can emit are dependent on states the electrons can be in. When excited, an electron moves to a higher energy level or orbital.
Together, wave and particle effects fully explain the emission and absorption spectra of EM radiation. The matter-composition of the medium through which the light travels determines the nature of the absorption and emission spectrum. These bands correspond to the allowed energy levels in the atoms.
Stimulated emission (also known as induced emission) is the process by which an electron is induced to jump from a higher energy level to a lower one by the presence of electromagnetic radiation at (or near) the frequency of the transition. From the thermodynamic viewpoint, this process must be regarded as negative absorption.
The emission spectrum of iron. Emission is a process by which a substance releases energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation. Emission can occur at any frequency at which absorption can occur, and this allows the absorption lines to be determined from an emission spectrum.
In optical spectroscopy, energy absorbed to move an electron to a higher energy level (higher orbital) and/or the energy emitted as the electron moves to a lower energy level is absorbed or emitted in the form of photons (light particles). Because each element has a unique number of electrons, an atom will absorb/release energy in a pattern ...
Within a semiconductor crystal lattice, thermal excitation is a process where lattice vibrations provide enough energy to transfer electrons to a higher energy band such as a more energetic sublevel or energy level. [3] When an excited electron falls back to a state of lower energy, it undergoes electron relaxation (deexcitation [4]).