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Emission Spectra

What is the emission spectra, and is it different to the electromagnetic spectrum,
Also how is emission spectra found and what is an elements finger print
Original post by wkdwelburn95

Original post by wkdwelburn95
What is the emission spectra, and is it different to the electromagnetic spectrum,
Also how is emission spectra found and what is an elements finger print


The emission spectrum of an atom or molecule is the characteristic frequencies of Electromagnetic Radiation emitted when it falls from one energy state to another.
It is found using a spectrometer and examining what frequency or wavelength the lines are located at, which allows you to see what something is made of. The emission spectra is the element's fingerprint as each spectrum is unique to any given element. This is actually how helium was discovered. The sun's spectrum was examined and there were spectral lines that didn't correspond to any known element, thus it was hypothesised that there was a new element there, which was named Helium after helios, the Greek word for the sun.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emission_spectrum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium
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wkdwelburn95
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Original post by VagnTheBrave

Original post by VagnTheBrave
The emission spectrum of an atom or molecule is the characteristic frequencies of Electromagnetic Radiation emitted when it falls from one energy state to another.
It is found using a spectrometer and examining what frequency or wavelength the lines are located at, which allows you to see what something is made of. The emission spectra is the element's fingerprint as each spectrum is unique to any given element. This is actually how helium was discovered. The sun's spectrum was examined and there were spectral lines that didn't correspond to any known element, thus it was hypothesised that there was a new element there, which was named Helium after helios, the Greek word for the sun.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emission_spectrum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium


Cheers, this really helped, but what is the difference between emission spectra and absorption spectra?
Original post by wkdwelburn95

Original post by wkdwelburn95
Cheers, this really helped, but what is the difference between emission spectra and absorption spectra?


The absorption spectra is simply when a photon is absorbed by a molecule or atom in a continuous spectrum, rather than when one is emitted. These spectral lines will fall in the same place, however they may have different intensities as certain emissions are more likely to occur than others.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorption_spectra#Relation_to_emission_spectrum

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