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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.
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. The Balmer series, or Balmer lines in atomic physics, is one of a set of six named series describing the spectral line emissions of the hydrogen atom.
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.
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 phrase "spectral lines", when not qualified, usually refers to lines having wavelengths in the visible band of the full electromagnetic spectrum. Many spectral lines occur at wavelengths outside this range. At shorter wavelengths, which correspond to higher energies, ultraviolet spectral lines include the Lyman series of hydrogen.
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.
Next, Bohr was told by his friend, Hans Hansen, that the Balmer series is calculated using the Balmer formula, an empirical equation discovered by Johann Balmer in 1885 that described wavelengths of some spectral lines of hydrogen. [18] [22] This was further generalized by Johannes Rydberg in 1888, resulting in what is now known as the Rydberg ...