spectral line: Quick Facts

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Balmer series of hydrogen spectral lines

A horizontal diagram of the visible solar spectrum displays colors from violet to red, labeled with wavelength values in nanometers and prominent Fraunhofer lines marking where elements like hydrogen, magnesium, and sodium absorb light.

A diagram showing the energy levels of a hydrogen atom, with horizontal lines representing quantum levels N=1 through N=6 and infinity. Vertical red lines indicate electron transitions that produce ultraviolet, visible, and infrared light, labeled as series I, II, and III.

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Topics

emission line absorption line spectral line series fine structure Rydberg constant Pfund series series limit Paschen series Lyman series Brackett series Zeeman effect Stark effect Stokes lines line broadening

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Key People

Fraunhofer, detail of an engraving

Joseph von Fraunhofer

German physicist