Quick Question regarding Atomic spectra

[convict11]

An emission spectrum can contain wavelengths produced when an electron goes from the third to the second leve. So could you see this like in the absorption spectrum? Why?

 

[Andrew Mason]

An emission spectrum can contain wavelengths produced when an electron goes from the third to the second leve. So could you see this like in the absorption spectrum? Why?

Yes. If starlight passes through realtively cool hydrogen gas, the light that makes it through will have dark lines corresponding to the emission spectrum for hydrogen. The reason is that the photons that correspond to the difference in energy levels of the hydrogen atom will be absorbed (to bump the electrons up to the higher level) whereas others will not be absorbed. The actual mechanism that causes this to occur requires an understanding of quantum mechanics and is not simple.

AM

 

[thepatientmental]

Yes, you can see this transition in the absorption spectrum as well. In an absorption spectrum, the wavelengths that are absorbed by the atom correspond to the energy needed for an electron to move from a lower energy level to a higher energy level. In this case, the electron would be moving from the second to the third level, resulting in the same wavelengths being observed as in the emission spectrum. This is because the energy difference between the levels remains the same regardless of the direction of the electron's transition.