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The hydrogen spectral series can be expressed simply in terms of the Rydberg constant for hydrogen and the Rydberg formula. In atomic physics, Rydberg unit of energy, symbol Ry, corresponds to the energy of the photon whose wavenumber is the Rydberg constant, i.e. the ionization energy of the hydrogen atom in a simplified Bohr model.
In 1890, Rydberg proposed on a formula describing the relation between the wavelengths in spectral lines of alkali metals. [2]: v1:376 He noticed that lines came in series and he found that he could simplify his calculations using the wavenumber (the number of waves occupying the unit length, equal to 1/λ, the inverse of the wavelength) as his unit of measurement.
In a theoretical model of atom, which has a infinitely massive nucleus, the energy (in wavenumbers) of a transition can be calculated from Rydberg formula: ~ = (′), where and ′ are principal quantum numbers, and is Rydberg constant.
The concepts of the Rydberg formula can be applied to any system with a single particle orbiting a nucleus, for example a He + ion or a muonium exotic atom. The equation must be modified based on the system's Bohr radius ; emissions will be of a similar character but at a different range of energies.
The version of the Rydberg formula that generated the Lyman series was: [2] = (= +) where n is a natural number greater than or equal to 2 (i.e., n = 2, 3, 4, .... Therefore, the lines seen in the image above are the wavelengths corresponding to n = 2 on the right, to n → ∞ on the left.
The energy of Rydberg states can be refined by including a correction called the quantum defect in the Rydberg formula. The quantum defect correction can be associated with the presence of a distributed ionic core. The experimental study of molecular Rydberg states has been conducted with traditional methods for generations.
This was later extended to a general formula called the Rydberg formula. This could only be applied to hydrogen-like atoms. In 1908 Ritz derived a relationship that could be applied to all atoms which he calculated prior to the first 1913 quantum atom and his ideas are based on classical mechanics. [10]
The Rydberg states [1] of an atom or molecule are electronically excited states with energies that follow the Rydberg formula as they converge on an ionic state with an ionization energy. Although the Rydberg formula was developed to describe atomic energy levels, it has been used to describe many other systems that have electronic structure ...