Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The spectral series of hydrogen, on a logarithmic scale. The emission spectrum of atomic hydrogen has been divided into a number of spectral series, with wavelengths given by the Rydberg formula. These observed spectral lines are due to the electron making transitions between two energy levels in an atom.
Here is an illustration of the first series of hydrogen emission lines: The Lyman series. Historically, explaining the nature of the hydrogen spectrum was a considerable problem in physics. Nobody could predict the wavelengths of the hydrogen lines until 1885 when the Balmer formula gave an
Lyman-alpha, typically denoted by Ly-α, is a spectral line of hydrogen (or, more generally, of any one-electron atom) in the Lyman series.It is emitted when the atomic electron transitions from an n = 2 orbital to the ground state (n = 1), where n is the principal quantum number.
Hydrogen-alpha, typically shortened to H-alpha or Hα, is a deep-red visible spectral line of the hydrogen atom with a wavelength of 656.28 nm in air and 656.46 nm in vacuum. It is the first spectral line in the Balmer series and is emitted when an electron falls from a hydrogen atom's third- to second-lowest energy level.
This forms a continuum in the energy spectrum; the spectrum is continuous rather than composed of many discrete lines, which are seen at lower energies. [3] [4] The Lyman Series. The Lyman limit is at the wavelength of 91.2 nm (912 Å), corresponding to a frequency of 3.29 million GHz and a photon energy of 13.6 eV. [3]
A hydrogen atom with proton and electron spins aligned (top) undergoes a flip of the electron spin, resulting in emission of a photon with a 21 cm wavelength (bottom) The hydrogen line, 21 centimeter line, or H I line [a] is a spectral line that is created by a change in the energy state of solitary, electrically neutral hydrogen atoms.
The "visible" hydrogen emission spectrum lines in the Balmer series. H-alpha is the red line at the right. Four lines (counting from the right) are formally in the visible range. Lines five and six can be seen with the naked eye, but are considered to be ultraviolet as they have wavelengths less than 400 nm.
If the same pattern of intervals is seen in an observed spectrum from a distant source but occurring at shifted wavelengths, it can be identified as hydrogen too. If the same spectral line is identified in both spectra—but at different wavelengths—then the redshift can be calculated using the table below.