The intensity of light as a function of wavelength is a spectrum. To see a spectrum, a beam of electromagnetic radiation is spread according to wavelength or colour so that the intensity as a function of wavelength is represented. A visible spectrum has many colors, and a rainbow is a typical spectrum.
Visible light is only in a small range of the total electromagnetic radiation spectrum and a partial spectrum may be in regions that are not visible. Classified according to region of radiation, we have infrared-, ultraviolet-, X-ray-, and gamma-ray- spectra.
Light beams (radiations) from (hot) solids may be spread (by a prism) into a continuous display of color, and such beams give continuous spectra or white spectra.
Light beams from a gaseous sample usually show colored lines called
line spectra or discontinued spectra.
These continuous and line spectra are called emission spectra.
The spectra of H, Hg, and Ne are line spectra.
When a white light beam passes through a medium, light of some colors will be absorbed. As a result, the spectrum shows dark (absent) lines. Such a spectrum is called an absorption spectrum.
The dark lines in the absorption spectrum of a gas correspond exactly to some of the bright lines in the emision spectrum of that gas.
The frequency (Hz) wave number (number per meter) and wavelength (nm) of some of the lines in the visible region are given below:
| Frequency in 1e14 Hz | Wavelength nm | Wave number mm-1 Energy | in e-19 J 4.57 | 656.3 | 1523 | 3.028
| 6.17 | 486.1 | 2056 | 4.088
| 6.91 | 434.0 | 2303 | 4.578
| 7.32 | 410.2 | 2437 | 4.845
| 7.56 | 397.0 | 2518 | 5.006
| 7.71 | 388.9 | 2571 | 5.110
| 7.82 | 383.5 | 2606 | 5.181
| |
|---|
Many people tried to find the rules that govern their variation,
and in the process many mathematical techniques have been employed.
Among these attempts, there has been suggestions that the wavenumbers
vary according to
| RH --- - K, n2 |
where RH is the Rydberg constant, n an integer, and K some constant.
At the time when Bohr worked on this problem, Rutherford had shown that atoms consisted of small dense nuclei surrounded by very light electrons. Thus, Bohr thought the atom might be a minature solar system with electrons revolving around (like the planet) the nucleus (the Sun). He also applied Planck's quantum concept and implied that when the angular momentum of the revolving electron is of a certain value, the electron orbital is stable. He derived a formula that showed the energy of the photons of these lines vary according to
1 1
E = - RH ( --- - --- )
n2 4
|
Depending on the units used for RH, the energy E of this formula can be wavenumbers or frequencies.
Furthermore, the formula also applies to lines of the hydrogen spectrum in the infrared and ultraviolet regions if the 4 is replaced by the square of some other integer, n'. Thus, the formula has a general form of
1 1
E = - R ( --- - --- )
n2 n'2
|
Thus, this formula agrees with all observed lines in the hydrogen spectrum. The above formula has been employed to calculate the spectra of the hydrogen atom.
Discussion:
The term spectrum can have other meanings, but this is a good start.
A spectrum sometimes also display the intensity of the various colors.
In this case, the spectrum is presented as a plot.
Discussion:
Light emitted from a solid (wire) is white, and it has a continuous spectrum.
White radiation or a continuous spectrum is emitted by a hot solid.
Discussion:
Light from any gas consists of lines.
A plasma (hot gas) is used in fluorescent lamp as light source.
Discussion:
Lyman series is in the UV region, Ritz-Paschen and Pfund series are in the
IR region. The n' (or nf in some texts) has a value
of 2 for the Balmer series.
Discussion:
The visible spectrum range from about 400 to 700 nm. The visible region is
really narrow. A wavelength of 400 nm corresponds to a frequency of what?