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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.
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.
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] This principle, the Rydberg–Ritz combination principle, is used today in identifying the transition lines of atoms.
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.
Bohr's derivation of the Rydberg constant, as well as the concomitant agreement of Bohr's formula with experimentally observed spectral lines of the Lyman (n f =1), Balmer (n f =2), and Paschen (n f =3) series, and successful theoretical prediction of other lines not yet observed, was one reason that his model was immediately accepted.
It is now apparent why Rydberg atoms have such peculiar properties: the radius of the orbit scales as n 2 (the n = 137 state of hydrogen has an atomic radius ~1 μm) and the geometric cross-section as n 4. Thus, Rydberg atoms are extremely large, with loosely bound valence electrons, easily perturbed or ionized by collisions or external fields.
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 ...
Rydberg constant, a constant related to atomic spectra; Rydberg formula, a formula describing wavelengths; Rydberg atom, an excited atomic state; Rydberg molecule, an electronically excited chemical substance; Rydberg unit of energy (symbol Ry), derived from the Rydberg constant