How Do You Calculate A Balmer Series Wavelength?
A Balmer series provides the wavelengths of the spectral line emissions of the hydrogen atom. A spectral line emission occurs when the photons of a particular wavelength are emitted at a significantly greater rate than the photons with the nearby frequencies. The Balmer series was discovered by Johann Balmer in 1885 when he noticed a mathematical relationship among the hydrogen spectral lines. Observe the wavelengths of light for the hydrogen emission spectrum lines that are in the visible spectrum. There are four of these lines with observed wavelengths of 410 nanometers (nm), 434 nm, 486 nm and 656 nm. Find a relationship between these four wavelengths in order to predict the locations of hydrogen spectral lines that aren’t in the visible spectrum. Use the Balmer series, which is Y = B(m^2 / (m^2 – 4)) where Y is the wavelength of the spectral line, B is a constant value of approximately 364.56 nm, and m is an integer greater than 2. Calculate the first four values in the Balmer seri
