The hydrogen emission spectrum is the "Rosetta Stone" of atomic structure.
Gas Discharge Tubes: Passing electricity through a gas excites electrons. When they relax, they emit light of specific colors (wavelengths).
Interactive Hydrogen Atom
Click a level to jump.
p+
UV (Lyman)
Visible (Balmer)
IR (Paschen)
UV Series (Lyman)
Falls to n=1.
Largest energy drop → High Energy UV.
Visible Series (Balmer)
Falls to n=2.
Smaller drops → Visible Light.
Deep Think Concept
The Convergence Limit
As main energy levels get closer together (converge) at high n, the lines in the spectrum also get closer together.
Why is this important?
At the limit where the lines merge (convergence), the electron has reached \( n = \infty \). It has effectively left the atom. The energy at this limit corresponds to the Ionization Energy.
Student Practice Set
1.
Which electron transition results in the emission of visible light?