- #1
burg25
- 12
- 0
Homework Statement
1. Homework Statement
The temperature of the surface of a certain star is 8000 K. Most hydrogen atoms at the surface of the star are in the electronic ground state. What is the approximate fraction of the hydrogen atoms that are in the first excited state (and therefore could emit a photon)? The energy of the first excited state above the ground state is (-13.6/22 eV) - (-13.6 eV) = 10.2 eV = 1.632e-18 J.
Homework Equations
Kb = 1.38e-23 J/K
1/T = E/Kb
The Attempt at a Solution
I don't really know how to do this problem. My guess was to divide the energy in joules by the temperature and then divide by the Boltzmann constant to make it unitless.
(1.632e-18/8000)/(1.38e-23)=14.8