Labs / Chemistry
Emission Spectrum
Click any energy level to kick the hydrogen electron up to it, then watch it fall back down one jump at a time. Every drop releases a photon of a precise wavelength set by the Rydberg formula — each one paints a sharp colored line onto the spectrum strip below.
drop —ΔE — eVλ — nm—
What to try
- Which jumps land in the visible rainbow, and which vanish into the ultraviolet or infrared?
- Excite to n=6 over and over. Why do the same few colored lines keep appearing instead of a smooth blur?
- The 3→2 drop glows red but 6→2 is violet. What does a bigger energy gap do to the wavelength?
- Turn off step-by-step cascade so the electron falls straight to n=1. Where do those lines land, and why can't you see them?
- Compare the spacing of the energy levels near n=1 versus near n=6 — how does that crowding shape the spectrum?