balmer series

The Balmer series is the series of transitions and resulting emission lines of the hydrogen atom as an electron goes from n ≥ 3 to n = 2 (where n refers to the energy level of the electron). The transitions are named sequentially by Greek letter: n = 3 to n = 2 is called H-alpha, 4 to 2 is H-beta, 5 to 2 is H-gamma, etc. As the spectral lines associated with this series are located in the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, these lines are historically referred to as H-alpha, etc., rather than Balmer-alpha, etc.

Balmer's formula

\frac{1}{\lambda} = R\left(\frac{1}{2^2} - \frac{1}{n^2}\right)

with R = Rydberg's constant = 10,793,731.534 m⁻¹; λ is the wavelength of the emitted light

Balmer Series

Balmer's formula

See also