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Understanding Spectra and Spectroscopy

A spectrum shows the different wavelengths that make up radiation, like the colors of visible light. A spectrometer uses a prism or other method to separate out the individual wavelengths present. There are two main types of spectra: a continuous spectrum with a continuous range of wavelengths like sunlight, and a line spectrum with distinct wavelengths. Line spectra can be either emission spectra from light emitted during electron transitions, or absorption spectra from light absorbed during transitions between energy levels; each element has its own unique emission and absorption spectra due to its atomic structure.

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32 views1 page

Understanding Spectra and Spectroscopy

A spectrum shows the different wavelengths that make up radiation, like the colors of visible light. A spectrometer uses a prism or other method to separate out the individual wavelengths present. There are two main types of spectra: a continuous spectrum with a continuous range of wavelengths like sunlight, and a line spectrum with distinct wavelengths. Line spectra can be either emission spectra from light emitted during electron transitions, or absorption spectra from light absorbed during transitions between energy levels; each element has its own unique emission and absorption spectra due to its atomic structure.

Uploaded by

Zahid Ibk
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Spectra

A spectrum is a family of different wavelengths. For visible light, wavelengths correspond to


colors.
A spectrometer is a device that can separate the wavelengths in a beam of radiation, to
show those wavelengths that are present. A prism is a simple spectrometer.
Continuous spectrum: consist of continuous range of wavelengths. Spectra of light
directly from the sun and from incandescent lamps are continuous spectra.
Line spectrum: consists of discrete wavelengths. There are two types of line spectra,
emission spectrum and absorption spectrum.
Emission spectrum is a collection of wavelengths of the light emitted by an atom when
its electrons transit from higher to lower energy levels.
Absorption spectrum is a collection of wavelengths of the light absorbed by an atom
when its electrons transit from lower to higher energy levels.
Atoms of a certain element have their unique emission and absorption spectra because their
atomic structure is unique. So analyzing emission or absorption spectrum is a useful method to
identify elements.

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