Lecture Outlines
Chapter 4
Astronomy Today
9th Edition
Chaisson/McMillan
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Chapter 4
Spectroscopy
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Units of Chapter 4
4.1 Spectral Lines
4.2 Atoms and Radiation
Discovery 4-1 The Photoelectric Effect
More Precisely 4-1 The Hydrogen Atom
4.3 Formation of Spectral Lines
4.4 Molecules
4.5 Spectral-Line Analysis
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4.1 Spectral Lines
Spectroscope: Splits light into component
colors
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4.1 Spectral Lines
Emission lines:
Single frequencies
emitted by
particular atoms
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4.1 Spectral Lines
Emission spectrum can be used to identify
elements
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4.1 Spectral Lines
Absorption spectrum: If a continuous
spectrum passes through a cool gas, atoms of
the gas will absorb the same frequencies they
emit
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4.1 Spectral Lines
An absorption spectrum can also be used to
identify elements. These are the emission and
absorption spectra of sodium:
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4.1 Spectral Lines
Kirchhoff’s laws:
• Luminous solid, liquid, or dense gas
produces continuous spectrum
• Low-density hot gas produces emission
spectrum
• Continuous spectrum incident on cool, thin
gas produces absorption spectrum
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4.1 Spectral Lines
Kirchhoff’s laws illustrated
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4.2 Atoms and Radiation
Existence of spectral lines required new
model of atom, so that only certain amounts
of energy could be emitted or absorbed
Bohr model had certain allowed orbits for
electron
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4.2 Atoms and Radiation
Emission energies correspond to energy
differences between allowed levels
Modern model has electron “cloud” rather
than orbit
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Discovery 4-1: The Photoelectric
Effect
The photoelectric effect:
• When light shines on metal, electrons can be
emitted
• Frequency must be higher than minimum,
characteristic of material
• Increased frequency—more energetic
electrons
• Increased intensity—more electrons, same
energy
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Discovery 4-1: The Photoelectric
Effect
Photoelectric effect can only be understood if
light behaves like particles
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More Precisely 4-1: The Hydrogen Atom
Energy levels of the hydrogen atom, showing
two series of emission lines:
The energies of
the electrons in
each orbit are
given by:
The emission
lines correspond
to the energy
differences
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4.2 Atoms and Radiation
Light particles each have energy E:
Here, h is Planck’s constant:
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4.3 Formation of Spectral Lines
Absorption can boost an electron to the
second (or higher) excited state
Two ways to decay:
1. Directly to ground state
2. Cascade one orbital at a time
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4.3 Formation of Spectral Lines
(a) Direct decay (b) Cascade
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4.3 Formation of Spectral Lines
Absorption spectrum: Created when atoms
absorb photons of right energy for excitation
Multielectron atoms: Much more
complicated spectra, many more possible
states
Ionization changes
energy levels
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4.3 Formation of Spectral Lines
Emission lines can be used to identify atoms
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4.4 Molecules
Molecules can vibrate and
rotate, besides having
energy levels
• Electron transitions
produce visible and
ultraviolet lines
• Vibrational transitions
produce infrared lines
• Rotational transitions
produce radio wave lines
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4.4 Molecules
Molecular spectra are much more complex
than atomic spectra, even for hydrogen
(a) Molecular hydrogen (b) Atomic hydrogen
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4.5 Spectral-Line Analysis
Information that can be gleaned from
spectral lines:
• Chemical composition
• Temperature
• Radial velocity
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4.5 Spectral-Line Analysis
Line broadening can
be due to a variety
of causes
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4.5 Spectral-Line Analysis
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4.5 Spectral-Line Analysis
The Doppler shift may
cause thermal
broadening of spectral
lines
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4.5 Spectral-Line Analysis
Rotation will also cause broadening of
spectral lines through the Doppler effect
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Summary of Chapter 4
• Spectroscope splits light beam into
component frequencies
• Continuous spectrum is emitted by solid,
liquid, and dense gas
• Hot gas has characteristic emission
spectrum
• Continuous spectrum incident on cool, thin
gas gives characteristic absorption spectrum
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Summary of Chapter 4 (cont.)
• Spectra can be explained using atomic
models, with electrons occupying specific
orbitals
• Emission and absorption lines result from
transitions between orbitals
• Molecules can also emit and absorb
radiation when making transitions between
vibrational or rotational states
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