8
submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by niktemadur@lemmy.world to c/askscience@lemmy.world

In the color lines of a spectrograph and what seems to be an area with a certain color, zooming in shows that this color is delicately split in half by a black vertical hairline, on one side it's the emission of photons of color by a hydrogen atom with a spin up electron, on the other it seems to be the same color but it's a spin down electron.

Whenever I hear that gap mentioned, 1/137 is invoked, but I'm not sure precisely what that means, and I'm visualizing that the color of the spectral emission can be divided or deconstructed into a total of 137 vertical lines, and the one in the middle is black.

Maybe it represents 1/137 of a photon's wavelength at a certain color?

top 3 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] lolcatnip@reddthat.com 8 points 2 months ago

It's not precisely 1/137, so looking for 137 of something doesn't make sense.

[-] niktemadur@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

Yeah... I sort of suspected as much, I know the decimals continue like a number chorizo.

So flipping the question, then - does the black hairline gap in spectral emissions with up and down electrons represent some sort of irreducible step, and what would that be?

[-] lolcatnip@reddthat.com 3 points 2 months ago

I'm getting to the edge of what I know, but emission and absorbtion lines so represent a irreducible step: an electron moving from one energy state to another inside an atom. That irreducibility is where the "quantum" in quantum mechanics comes from. It's also how physicists figured how how electrons in an atom are grouped into shells and subshells.

this post was submitted on 26 Aug 2024
8 points (100.0% liked)

Ask Science

8592 readers
30 users here now

Ask a science question, get a science answer.


Community Rules


Rule 1: Be respectful and inclusive.Treat others with respect, and maintain a positive atmosphere.


Rule 2: No harassment, hate speech, bigotry, or trolling.Avoid any form of harassment, hate speech, bigotry, or offensive behavior.


Rule 3: Engage in constructive discussions.Contribute to meaningful and constructive discussions that enhance scientific understanding.


Rule 4: No AI-generated answers.Strictly prohibit the use of AI-generated answers. Providing answers generated by AI systems is not allowed and may result in a ban.


Rule 5: Follow guidelines and moderators' instructions.Adhere to community guidelines and comply with instructions given by moderators.


Rule 6: Use appropriate language and tone.Communicate using suitable language and maintain a professional and respectful tone.


Rule 7: Report violations.Report any violations of the community rules to the moderators for appropriate action.


Rule 8: Foster a continuous learning environment.Encourage a continuous learning environment where members can share knowledge and engage in scientific discussions.


Rule 9: Source required for answers.Provide credible sources for answers. Failure to include a source may result in the removal of the answer to ensure information reliability.


By adhering to these rules, we create a welcoming and informative environment where science-related questions receive accurate and credible answers. Thank you for your cooperation in making the Ask Science community a valuable resource for scientific knowledge.

We retain the discretion to modify the rules as we deem necessary.


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS